Starkiller: Origins
by n7falco
Summary: No memories of his prior life, the man dubbed Starkiller by Talon endures the suffering and training to become the greatest assassin in the world. Or is he just biding his time until he can make a clean getaway and rid the world of it's true enemies.
1. From the Shadows

_I can hear water droplets echo in the room. I always wake up to that sound. At first I always thought it was the most bothersome noise ever. But the longer I've been here...however long that has been at this point, it came to be more soothing than anything else. It calmed me down from enduring the days here, it was almost hypnotic for me at this point_.

"AHHH! AHHHHHH AHHHHHHHH!"

The screaming brought his attention out of his trance. _They've selected another to be their guinea pig. From the sounds of it, he's not enduring the..enhancements..as well as some of the others here. Maybe it's luck or maybe actually is something with our DNA. The more and more I think about it, the ones who don't survive might be the lucky ones. The few that are surviving seem to be serving as pioneers for new ways of enhancements to be placed on us. Some add-ons not being so elegantly placed on us. Or in us._

With that thought escaping his mind, his door opened up revealing what everyone around here called "the angel of death". Without even having to say anything he stood in the door way drawing the attention of the man in the cell. With his arms still folded, Reaper motioned with his head for him to follow him.

Hesitant at first, though his scars did serve as lessons for obedience, he got up and followed him out of his cell. As he followed the shadowy figure, he noticed that more cells in the hall were empty. More lucky subjects aren't stuck in this hell. As the two walked down the narrow hall, two guards were carrying a body out walking by. He saw the lifeless stare in his eyes as the guards carried him to the furnace, where they discarded failed test subjects. He was led to the room he feared the most, that damn lab bed.

Reaper held the door for him as he entered. The door shut behind him startling him slightly as he closed his eyes to regain his composure.

"Lay down." The voice was like nails on a chalkboard for him. That damn doctor, the creator of all this agony. The one responsible for all of this suffering and pain. But the one thing that hurt the most out of anything. It was less painful to just listen and follow orders. Pain had pretty much been a constant at this point. The only difference would be if it would be unbearable or not. As his back hit the table the restraints held his legs and arms into place. His teeth grit for the sensations that would soon follow.

"You are looking to be a promising one. Only two others have made it this far. Let's see if you can keep up with them."

A series of injections filled his body with a familiar sensation. Being put in a trance that made him subdue to the pain, but aware enough to feel what was going on. He felt every incision, every inch of every scratch her scalpel made. He felt her digging into his insides. He hated every minute of it. Before he would scream and yell out in pain, but he suppressed it all now. He thought somehow she gets some kind of sick kick out of hearing the screaming. He closed his eyes and tried to use every bit of his strength not to yell out in agony. His fists were clenched tight his teeth grit. Then he felt the invasion stop. He let out a slight sigh of relief. But before he could open his eyes he felt a sting in his neck, followed by what could only be described as a burning feeling spreading through his veins and to every inch of his body.

"This is the final step in the prep faze. After this you will be working with Reaper to perfect your new found abilities, as well as your combat prowls." The doctor got up from her seat by the table and grabbed her notepad and jotted some notes down observing his reactions to the serum.

His breathing was becoming heavier as the burning sensation only seemed to intensify. He tried muffling his discomfort, to the doctor's surprise he was enduring this part quite well. She put the note pad down and lowered her glasses and walked up looking down and the squirming man. "The serum is changing your DNA and molecular structure. It should only take about ten more minutes or so." she turned and walked back to the door. "Pending you survive of course."

The burning sensation quickly turned to a stabbing pain. It was like he fell on a bunch of knives that were getting twisted into his skin. The pain was becoming too much, he let out a grunt thinking somehow distracting himself with an audible noise would ease the pain. To no success the pain only got worse. Just when he thought it would never stop, it suddenly started to subside. He felt like his body was being put in a cooler, but it felt like such a soothing sensation. He actually let out a sigh of relief.

"Good your not dead yet." Reaper said undoing his restraints and grabbed him by the collar and dragged him back down the hallway. He scanned the cells once more but this time saw one of the other prisoners being led into the same lab room. He knew what fate awaited him. He looked terrified, he probably wouldn't make it. Coming along this far you start to see a pattern of those who can make it, and those who will crumble.

Reaper tossed him back into his cell. "You're the first one to live through this part of the experiment. Guess you are the stronger one out of the bunch." Still he said nothing back trying to regain his strength to crawl back onto the mattress. When he finally made it back on, the screams of that poor bastard could be heard throughout the cells. He shook his head almost hating that he was right. Then he heard it again. That water drop. That soothing sound was back, and it was a welcoming noise to drown out the death he was hearing in this place.

"Seems we have a winner." Reaper scuffed propping himself up against the wall.

"For now. We shall see if his body can maintain it's integrity after trying his abilities for the first time. That is where you come in." Moira said looking back at him.

"If it worked on me I don't see why it shouldn't work on him."

"The variation is a bit different than yours. He can't travel like you can in your shroud from, but if all goes well he should be to teleport in an instant molecule by molecule. Allowing him to pass through walls. But it's only for a short distances at a time."

"Already looking for an upgrade from me aren't you?" Reaper dissipated into a cloud that traveled out of the room.

"You know me so well." Moira said under her breath continuing with her data entries.

 _Something's not right. Even after whatever that doctor does to me, I usually don't feel so..uneasy like I do now. I can't put my finger on it but it feels like my insides are..moving. At least that's the best way I can put it. Why won't this stop._

Reaper appeared in front to of the man's cell again and swung it open. It startled him to his feet. _Already? I thought I was done for the day._ The man looked back at Reaper as he he walked in to the cell and grabbed him by his shirt and pulled him to inches away from his mask. "You're mine until Moira says otherwise. Ready to have some fun?" His voice was raspy and loud but it did share a slight hint of amusement at what was coming. _That can't be a good sign_.

Reaper dragged him into to a large room and threw him on the ground. He staggered a bit looking around. The room was too dark to show where the walls were, only a dimly lit light shredded the darkness in the middle of the room.

"Now dodge."

The man looked around. His voice seemed to echo all around him. He couldn't tell where Reaper was. A fist sucker punched him across his face knocking him back.

"I said dodge." A barrage of punches came in knocking him around like a rag doll hitting him to the ground. He rolled over to his hands and knees before Reaper kicked him in the ribs and continued kicking him on the ground.

"You can stop this at any time just dodge." Now he was starting to get irritated. The kicks were coming in harder and faster.

"Wait" The man whimpered out hardly in what could be called a voice. The wind had been knocked out of him and he was gasping for air.

"Pleading? Let me get something through your skull here." He kicked him between every word he proceeded to say. "We. Do. Not. Beg. For. MERCY!" The last kick definitely broke something. He was gasping for air and coughing up blood.

*Click*

He held his breath slowly turning his meeting the gaze of the barrel of his shotgun.

"I suggest you learn quickly, I don't feel like cleaning up a mess." The moment Reaper pulled the trigger the flash lit up in his face. By pure instinct, he closed his eyes and tensed up everything. An odd sensation overcame his body like he was suddenly submerged in water. But only for a split second. He opened his eyes and had moved a few feet back from Reaper. He looked around and started patting himself down unsure what had just happened to him.

"There it is." His voice dragged out in a blissful satisfaction. "Do it again." He raised his gun and fired another blast. The sensation overcame his body again as time seemed to slow down for him. He saw his body slowly dissipate and the next moment he was a couple of feet to the side. He saw what happened to himself just now. Reaper started having a maniacal laugh as he started firing blast after blast. He was constantly disappearing and re-appearing avoiding each shell blast out of pure instinct. Each time he did he felt like a bit of his energy was being zapped away. He avoided one last blast before collapsing on to his hands and knees panting out of exhaustion.

"Wha- what's happening." He was so exhausted he couldn't even stand up or crawl. He just stayed there on all fours trying to regain his strength.

The two heard the door swing open and saw Moira approaching him. Without saying anything to him she examined him, ignoring the wounds. "How many times?" She asked Reaper.

"It took some..convincing." He said reloading his shotgun. "But I managed to scare him enough to coax two out of him."

"Good." Moira said pricking a finger to take a blood sample. She put the sample in her coat pocket and gave Reaper a nod before exiting the room.

Reaper grabbed the man and dragged him back to his cell and tossed him back inside. "You're gonna want to get better at that if you want to continue to breathe." Reaper slammed the door shut and walked out.

"How long do I have to look after your lab rat? I don't play nice with other people's toys." Reaper scowled as he entered her lab.

"Long enough until he can control his powers." She handed him a data pad of other upgrades she wanted to implement. "This is only the tip of the iceberg. When I'm through with him, he will be the perfect stealth assassin. Nobody will stand a chance against him."

"As long as he doesn't test my patience, I should be able to fight my urge to kill the little rat."

"Him and another are the only ones that didn't perish through the augmentations." Moira said

"What are you going to do with two of those freaks running around."

"We won't have two. We are only going to have one." Moira looked back at Reaper. Even with his mask on she could tell he was grinning a devious smile.

"Doc you certainly know what a man likes. I'll have it arranged tomorrow morning."

Moira's phone rang. She knew they were going to ask for updates, and for the first time since her project was approved, she was going to deliver.

"Yes?...Don't worry we have two subjects that survived...We have made arrangements for what to do with the two...of course...when we put him in the field he will be the best killer you could want...Yes even better than her...understood. Project Starkiller will be the best investment you will have ever made." She hung up her phone and took a sigh of relief. After saving her documents she closed her laptop and shut off the lab for the night. She was pleased with the success she had today. It was going to be the beginning of a new era for her and her creation.

The man was back in his cell still trying to figure out what had happened to him before. He was looking at himself through some broken glass examining himself. Everything looked normal, but what he just did to avoid being blasted was anything but normal. He tried focusing to recreate what he did before but to no success. He was becoming frustrated and clenched his fists out of frustration. Then that odd sensation filled his body again, and within a split second he was outside of his cell. He looked around shocked like a deer in the headlights, he didn't know what to do next.

"What do you think you're doing?" Reaper appeared out of thin air behind the man. Reaper was pressed up against him and forced him against the wall.

"I was just trying to figure out what happened..or what I did back there and I somehow ended up out here." The man was bracing himself to beaten again, like the last time he tried to flee.

Reaper started to chuckle in a low drawn out laugh. "Follow me." For once he was allowed to walk on his own free will, not being dragged around. Reaper led him into the same room where Reaper beat the living shit out of him. All the lights turned on revealing someone else on the other side of the room. He looked around examining his surroundings.

Reaper tossed two swords between them. The two picked up the swords the other man asking. "What are we suppose to do?"

"See which one of you is better."

"What does the winner get?"

Reaper leaned against the wall and chuckled. "To live."

The other man didn't hesitate at all lunging forward swinging his sword wildly trying so desperately fighting for his life. All I could do is block and parry some of his attacks, I didn't want to fight him. His attacks were relentless, I could see the desperation in his eyes.

"We don't have to fight man. Neither of us can lose if none of us win."

No use he kept attacking with all of his might yelling at every swing. I don't want to do this but I finally started fighting back. He was already tired from exerting all of his energy before. I knocked him off balance but I waited for him to regain his composure, it was a last ditch effort to show I didn't want to do this. He charged at me again this time a parried his charge and disarmed him casting his sword aside with relative ease. He stood there with his hands to his sides.

"Finish him." Reaper commanded from the sideline.

"No."

"I won't repeat myself kid."

"I won't do it"

"I said kill him now, he is weaker, the weaker enemies die on the battlefield."

"I SAID I WON'T DO IT!"

Reaper went into his shroud form and appeared right in behind him growling into his ear.

"He's not worthy you are, vanquish your foe and claim his life by your hand."

I really didn't want to but he was just so convincing. Maybe it was out of sheer fear, maybe I really didn't want to die. But with that I plunged my sword through him with the hilt of the sword going right to the chest. The kill wasn't instant, as I heard the breath slowly fade away from him. I drew my sword back watching the man before me struggle to keep his balance. His eyes went wide as he collapsed to his knees, he took one last glance at me before I saw the last of his life escape his body. The thud from the lifeless corpse was sickening, I shuddered at the sound it made. I was breathing heavy from the fight as I dropped the sword.

"Very good." Moira had been watching this entire time. "A little rough around the edges but we can definitely mold you."

Reaper scuffed as he turned to go drag the dead body away.

"You will Talon's greatest asset, Starkiller."


	2. The Journey Begins

"We have one more procedure we must do to..unleash your potential." Moira almost seemed like she was trying to justify why Starkiller should trust her. "Another set of biotic abilities with these amplifiers placed in your body should give you better control over your teleportation skills, as well as a few added perks."

Starkiller was a man of few words, for it seems he wasn't sure if he was a prisoner anymore or their ally. The lines between the two seem to blur after he killed the only other survivor of the testing. "What would the perks be?"

"I'm so glad you asked." Moira opened up her laptob displaying a series of slides detailing his theoretical abilities. "With these amplifiers you will be able to manipulate biotic fields around you. Project barriers, send shock waves, and my personal favorite, be able to fire biotic blasts."

Starkiller looked at the slides and just sat in the chair waiting to once again be the lab rat that Moira. "Let's get it over with."

Moira placed the laptop down and began knocking him out to place the amplifiers throughout his body. This was the first time he was knocked out completely and didn't have to endure the pain of being operated on while being awake. It was a pleasant change, but at the same time unnerving. Now he didn't know what she was doing.

Moira finished installing the last of the biotic amps in Starkiller and was waiting for him to wake up while she was cleaning up.

"You're playing a dangerous game her doc." Reaper said coming out of the shadows in the lab. "Once he figures out we no longer control him, making him this strong could be your downfall."

"You didn't seem to mind when you got your abilities Gabriel." Reaper flared up in anger throwing her against the wall.

"Don't call me that name!" Reaper's breathing was heavy while the shadowy aura around seem to dance around him like flames in the night. "Gabriel is dead. No need in using that name anymore."

"No need to throw a temper tantrum, I'm just proving a point. How powerful are you? And yet here you still are." Moira had a point but Reaper never was one to admit he was wrong.

"I just don't think we are being very smart about handling this guy." Reaper replied.

"You act like I never have a contingency in place for these situations." Moira said.

"You didn't for your last project and look how that ended up."

"That was different." Moira snapped back. "Your superiors took matters into their own hands and mistreated the situation. Put that loss on them."

"Just let me know when he wakes up so I can beat him into form." Reaper said disappearing into the shadows of the room.

Starkiller awoke without any pain or complications, which was strange for him. He looked at his arms and body, he already noticed a change in how he could almost feel his powers. With a simple flex of his muscles, a purple aura formed around him. He could feel the power coursing through him. He opened his hand and the aura started too concentrate in the palm of his hand. He raised it up and examined the energy that was growing in his hand. He pointed his hand away and fired a blast into the wall that startled everyone in the base. He looked at his hand again having a hard time believing what he just did.

"I see you are getting acclimated with your new abilities." Moira said.

Starkiller didn't say anything back but continued to look at the aura that engulfed him still trying to take this all in.

"Meet with Reaper, he's going to..polish you and help you contain your powers, and also show you your arsenal."

He looked at her and while his aura started to diminish around him. "No post op check?"

She scuffed at the thought, "I know I did everything right."

Starkiller went to the arena room where he had killed the other test subject, he still saw the dried blood stain where the bodied laid after he slayed him.

"Suit up." Reaper said to him as his armor set was layed out in front of him. His armor was sleek and black, light enough to move around freely without hindering mobility, but sturdy enough to protect him. He put his helmet on taking a deep breath and opening his eyes staring through the visor.

"Pick your weapon of choice. Shotguns, rifles, sidearms, Talon spares no buck when it comes to projects they want to see succeed." Reaper said. Starkiller looked around at all the weapons laid in front of him. All state of the art technology, some weapons even higher scale than most military's have. While Reaper was going on about tactical advantages for all the weapons, Strakiller's attention was drawn to the sword he used to kill the other subject. He walked over and picked it up, the familiar grip on the sword where he had his first 'fight or die' feeling.

"I'll take this." Starkiller said taking the sheath and strapping it to his back as he holstered the sword on his back. Starkiller had his look, the all black armor with the hilt of sword peaking over his right shoulder.

"I would suggest at least carrying some sort of firearm. It isn't wise to bring a knife to gun fight." Reaper said in his raspy tone with sarcasm flooding out of him.

Starkiller raised his hand and fired off another blast from his hand, scorching the wall in front of him. "I think I can manage."

Reaper put his fists together cracking his knuckles, "Don't get full of yourself. I can't help you get better with a sword though, not exactly my thing."

"You're only suppose to help him control his abilities." Moira said entering the training room.

"How exactly can he do that?" Starkiller asked doubting Reaper's abilities.

"Try not to die." Reaper pulled out his shotguns and started blasting away causing Starkiller to go on the defensive and faze away from each blast. Barely escaping the spread from the shotgun shells he teleported after each blast, but this only lasted for about six shifts, after which Starkiller was already resting his hands on his knees.

"You can't constantly be on the run. Manage your powers and use them when you need to." Reaper said walking up to him and pointing his shotgun in his face. "You run out of stamina too quickly, that will get you killed." Reaper pulled the trigger but the gun was out of ammo. Starkiller was breathing heavy. This was going to be a long road for him.

Reaper kicked him in the ribs knocking to his side. "This doesn't mean the fight is over." Reaper continued to kick him forcing Starkiller to teleport back away from him. "You won't be shown any mercy in the field of battlefield, get use to this treatment." Starkiller tried to fire a blast but couldn't gather enough energy to make it happen. He grimaced in pain, but could easily hide it behind his helmet. He drew his sword out and charged at Reaper. "You've got a lot to learn, MAGGOT!" Reaper yelled at him.

Just as Starkiller swung his sword, Reaper dissipated into a cloud. Starkiller looked around trying to locate any trace of Reaper, just as he turned his back Reaper started to appear behind him, "Death Comes."

In a split second, Starkiller disappeared and then reappeared looking like he had just swung his sword. With their backs towards each other, Starkiller stood up straight and sheathed his sword. Reaper suddenly hunched over grabbing his chest. "urggh...Not bad kid." His healing ability immediately kicked in. "Next time, you should go for the neck." Reaper slowly got up from his hunched form.

"I didn't want to kill you." Starkiller turned and looked at Reaper who was starting to chuckle under his mask.

"You couldn't even if you tried."

The coming months were all the same between the two. Reaper would push and punish Starkiller to his breaking point, pushing his limits trying to balance the use of his powers while engaging in combat. Most days Reaper would beat Starkiller down till he could hardly stand. Some days Starkiller would surprise Reaper and catch him off guard, but those days were few and far in between.

"I think it's time." Moira said to Reaper. "He's ready for his first assignment."

Reaper nodded "Bring him in here."

Starkiller was escorted by two guards to Moira's lab. They gave him his own room but that didn't mean they they gave him full freedom's yet. They opened door and motioned for him to sit down. He waited patiently in the seat until a folder was tossed in front of him.

"Your first assignment." Reaper scowled in his raspy low tone. Starkiller opened up the folder revealing Liao. A high ranking Overwatch member who is currently on leave from the facilities. "Be quick about this one. He tends to move around quite a bit." Reaper leaned in close to his face "No witnesses." The way he said it would make even the hardest of men tremble a little bit.

"Your shuttle is being prepped, pack your things you leave in thirty minutes." The shuttle's pilot said to him making his exit from the lab. Starkiller still looked through the files trying to pick up any details that might aide him in his pursuit. One of the founding members of Overwatch, he's likely to have a sizable security team around him. He took the file with him and suited up in his armor but before leaving he caught a glance of himself in the mirror. He had never seen what he looked like with his armor on, and it almost startled him. The sleek black look and numbing glare his helmet gave off sent chills down his back, but he knew what he needed to do.

Starkiller continued studying his file even on the shuttle during his flight. It appeared he was stationed in at a small outpost in an isolated area in the mid west of the United States, in Nevada specifically. He thought this would make things easier. Isolated area meant less of a chance of being seen by some unfortunate soul.

"ETA 5 minutes to drop zone." The pilot said over the ships intercom. Before he left the ship Reaper gave him an earpiece. "Call for pickup when you're done. Don't bother calling for help. You're on your own once you leave here." Starkiller put the earpiece in and put his helmet back on ready to take on his first mission, his first assassination.

The ship dropped him off a few miles off of the outpost. Starkiller started making tracks to the outpost. Defenses were little to non existent, to his surprise. He didn't see any guards on duty either. Something wasn't adding up and he knew it. He climbed to one of the towers to scope out the area, and noticed one window lit. He leaped from the tower and teleported inside the building sleeking around inside making his way to the top floor. He got to the door where his target was on the other side, he took a deep breath and fazed inside, trying to be as quiet as possible.

When he got inside, he saw his target sitting in a chair with a glass of what appeared to be whiskey sitting on a table beside him. There was fire in front of him making the shadows dance around in the background.

"I was wondering how long it would take them to find me." Liao said taking a sip of his whiskey. Starkiller was stunned he was alerted to his presence. Frozen in place he didn't know how to react. Liao got up from his chair and turned around to face him. "Your with Talon aren't you."

Starkiller's stance went a slightly tense when he got up but he relaxed seeing the man wasn't armed at all. "Then you know why I am here." he responded.

Liao chuckled and shook his head. "What's your name." Starkiller stayed silent. He didn't want to answer any questions this man asked. For one he didn't know if Talon was somehow listening in on him, but more importantly he didn't know. Liao turned back around facing the fire taking another sip of his drink. "I never though things would get this out of hand. We formed Overwatch to bring peace to the world, never thought we would end up in a war of attrition with a terrorist group to only end up back up at square one." Starkiller stood there letting the man ramble on. "Why are you with Talon?" He asked turning around to face him once more. Starkiller once again remaining silent.

"Hm, Talon must have a short leash on you. Tell me do you know what Talon plans to gain from my death."

"I don't care." Starkiller finally broke his silence.

"And there you go." Liao said pointing his finger at Starkiller sitting back down. "That's why Talon will never have the backing they so desire." He started pacing around the room in a way like a professor would during a lecture to a classroom. "If you don't have people to support a cause, and you create a false narrative, or none at all, you will only go so far on the backs of those being led blindly." He faced Starkiller one more time. "People like you, are the backbone, the foundation of the organizations like Talon and Overwatch. Without you there is no advancement in their true motives." Starkiller started to get an uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach. As much as he didn't want to admit it, deep down he knew this man was speaking the truth. Outside of being a lab rat, he had no real idea on what Talon was doing, he was just following orders.

"I knew this day would come sooner or later. They got to Gerard, it was only a matter of time before they got to me." Liao sat back down in his chair taking one last sip of his whiskey. He took out his gun that was under his chair and flung it to the feet of Starkiller. "Do me one favor, take off your helmet, and look me in the eyes when you do it." He finished his glass of whiskey gulping the rest of it down. Starkiller reached down for the gun and picked up and unloaded the clip, seeing there was only one bullet in the clip. He loaded back in and took off his helmet meeting his targets eyes.

"Think about what I said son, because trust me it won't get any easier form here." When he finished his thought Starkiller squeezed the trigger and shot him straight in the heart. Liao slumped back in his chair as the life escaped him slowly. Starkiller dropped the gun and put his helmet back on. He walked over to the body and put two fingers over his eyes, closing the lids out of respect of him.

He touched his communicator. "Mission accomplished, target down."

"Affirmative coming in for extraction." The pilot responded.

Starkiller took one last look at the body of the man he murdered before he exited the building to the roof. The shuttle came in shortly after picking him up.

"Quick work for your first assignment." Reaper said sitting inside.

Starkiller took a seat and remained silent, the words of the man he just killed still rolling around inside of his head.


	3. The Aftermath

She was waking like any other day, alarm blaring, struggling to fight her eyelids to open. She slammed her alarm to stop the noise and went to make a cup of tea. She went and sat on the couch and turned on the t.v. just to pass the time until her tea was ready. It was sappy soap opera, though mostly just for background noise, she wasn't really paying attention to the television. She enjoyed doing crossword puzzles to keep her mind busy too. But the program was cut suddenly cutting to a news reporter.

"Breaking news one of Overwatch's founding members Liao Han was found shot to death at an outpost in Nevada. Overwatch officials are keeping details confidential until more information is gathered through the investigation. Officials would also not disclose why he was at this outpost with little protection."

Lena dropped her crossword puzzle and ran to her phone and frantically dialed a number.

"Lena? Have you seen it too?"

"Yea it just popped up on my tele. Do we have any idea who did it?"

"It had to have been Talon, they had to have been tipped off he was there."

"Has Morrison said anything about this?"

"As of now no, just be on your guard Lena. If Liao went down they likely can easily find out where we are."

"You too Winston, keep in contact."

Lena hung up the phone and took a deep breath trying to regain her composure. She kept on staring at the T.V. as the reporters kept repeating the same thing over and over again. They tended to do that when they had a big story but no new details to report on. She was about to turn the T.V. off when they finally started talking about something else.

"This just in, in light of the recent turmoil Tekhartha Mondatta has anounced he will be addressing the public at King's Row tonight. The omnic monk leader is advocating for peace among everything going on, to put to rest of rumors of an omnic being responsible for the recent murder "

Lena's eyes lit up with hope as she greatly admired him for all of the progressive peace he has pushed and endorsed between human and omnics. She new this was what the people needed a glimmer of hope in a dark time. She already made arrangements to attend the rally in her home town.

"Morning Lena, off for another exciting mission?" The lobby employee of her apartment complex always teased Lena of her fame ever since she help put to rest the Omnic uprising some years ago. Of course with her chronal accelerator always humming and emitting a blue glow, it was hard to keep a low profile. So she just relished in the recognition.

"No not today, just running some errands before tonight. Big ralley in King's Row happening tonight." Lena cheerfully perked back.

"I heard, hopefully it makes a difference with everything going on."

"Me too luv. Me too." The last bit came off as a slightly distraught Lena, thinking to Liao's fate. She went off to pick up some groceries as she was enjoying a little time away from Overwatch herself.

* * *

"The council wishes to speak to you." Reaper appeared in Starkiller's room with his shroud cloud.

"Why?"

"They were impressed with your clean work of your first assignment, I believe they have another for you."

Starkiller followed Reaper out of his room, still thinking of everything Liao talked about before he met his end.

 _Without people like you, Overwatch and Talon are nothing._ The words resonated in his head, thinking maybe he should find out what Talon's end goal is. By the time he started paying attention to where he was he was in a room with Akande Ogundimu, aka Doomfist, an omnic Maximilien, and two other gentleman that he had not known or heard of. He occasionally saw Doomfist and Maximilien from time to time while he was training with Reaper. The other member attending was over a voice comm channel.

Moira and Reaper were also in the room.

"Very impressive work for your first time in the field, better than we could have hoped for." Maximilien complimented. "Such little trail left rumors are thinking it was an omnic." He started to chuckle at the insinuation.

"Your welcome." Moira said lifting her chin and crossing her arms. "My biotic upgrades to make him the perfect killer, just what we need."

"Now we have bigger fish to fry. There is a rally being held tonight in King's Row. You are tasked with taking out the speaker." Doomfist said.

"If I may speak freely," Starkiller said in a low voice. Maximilien motioned that the floor was all his. "What do you plan to accomplish here?" He had to ask, Liao's lecture was still bothering him.

"Oh he can think for himself?" One of the other gentleman in the room said. "I was under the impression we eliminated this from our field agents."

"The method's to eliminate this proved to be..too costly, and the method was not perfected as you all know from our last attempt at it." Moira responded to him.

"My friend," Maximilien put his arm around the man, "You need not concern yourself with that, you're merely a gun that fires in whatever direction we point you. Understand?" That last bit seemed like he was threatening any other questions like that wouldn't be met with such a friendly answer.

Starkiller looked down and nodded his head. "Understood sir."

"Good now get ready for your next mission, this one is critical."

Starkiller left to go suit up for his next mission. When he turned around he was met by Reaper standing silently behind him.

"You got lucky this time." Reaper scowled in his terrifying voice. "If it wasn't for your flawless mission you would have been killed for questioning anything they do." Reaper folded his arms trying to figure out the man. "What possessed you to do something so stupid like that?"

Starkiller turned back seeing himself in the mirror and from his perspective saw Reaper appear just over his shoulder. "Curiosity I guess." He decided not to tell Reaper of what actually happened on his first assignment for fear of any harm coming to him.

"Curiosity killed the cat, remember that the next time you get..curious." Reaper put extra emphasis on that last word, almost like he knew he wasn't telling the truth. He went to his shuttle fully suited up in his armor with his sword on his back. This one would be more difficult killing someone in front of a crowd. But that was for him to figure out.

Reaper gave him the earpiece again before he left, "Same drill as last time, only call when you're done."

Starkiller got into the shuttle and took off for London.

* * *

Lena was excited to finally see Mondatta in person. The crowd was becoming more energized as the anticipation was growing. Lena was slinking her way through the crowd getting a better view. Only a few more minutes until he would come to the podium.

The security detail was extensive from the escort to the podium to the rooftop teams scattered across where he was going to speak. Starkiller made his drop on the ground in an alley way. He had to stay out of sight of everyone. He looked up and saw some of the guards on the rooftops and started mentally planning his approach. He concentrated hard and teleported to the top ledge, just barely making it. He pulled himself the rest of the way on top and scouted the area.

The crowd started cheering when they saw Mondatta walking to the podium.

 _Speech already started I've got to move fast now._

He scanned the rooftop he was on and saw a guard patrolling around. He moved swiftly before he performed his signature teleport slash move decapitating the guard to make the silent kill quick. He picked up his rifle and kept moving to other rooftops. He managed to take down two other guards sheathing his sword before he took his rifle and moved into a better position.

Lena was awestruck watching Mondatta speak but she noticed one of the guards in the background holding his finger up to his earpiece then glancing at the roof tops. Lena's brow furrowed as she looked up as well and started making her way through the crowd to investigate further as well.

Starkiller looked around to make sure he was clear from anyone's sight before he scoped in taking aim at Mondatta's head. The shot was lined up and he was just about to pull the trigger. Then he heard something faint that quickly grew loud. When he turned around he saw a barrage of pulse shots coming his way. He immediately teleported out of the way.

"What the?" Lena looked around to see where the assassin went. She looked up and saw the silhouette of him in the moonlight. He was reaching back for his sword and made a quick dash towards her. She blinked out of the way just barely avoiding his blade.

"Mondatta's in danger get him out of here!" Lena yelled into her communicator ignoring all other chatter from the other security guards. Starkiller looked out of the corner of his mask and saw his target being escorted away from the podium. He darted towards Lena again this time she wasn't quick enough he was quick enough to slice Lena's arm as she tried to avoid him.

"Ahhh!" Lena grabbed her arm and quickly jumped back trying to draw Starkiller away from Mondatta. He didn't take the bait though he picked up the rifle and tried scoping in quickly to take the shot. Lena blinked over to him tackling him and taking him off his feet. The two rustled for having the upper hand. Starkiller finally gaining some of his stamina back teleported away from Lena and fired a biotic blast knocking her back against the wall. He took aim one last time to try and scope in but Lena through caution to the wind this time leaping and tackling him off the rooftop. The both of them came tumbling down and landed hard in the streets. Lena was struggling to catch her breath as she tried picking herself up, Starkiller on the other hand got up faster. and just as Lena tried to blink towards him to stop him, she couldn't. Her accelerator was damaged. With wide eyes and desperation, she looked up to see Starkiller teleport away. "NOOOOOO!" Lena yelled at the top of her lungs.

Starkiller appeared right in front of Mondatta and jabbed his sword straight through the omnic's chest. Just as quickly as he appeared, he disappeared. Those two teleports took a lot out of him as he was already exhausted from fending off Lena.

Lena sprinted through the streets as quickly as she could, but in the distance she heard the crowd's cheer turn to panic and disarray.

"No no no no no no." She started saying to herself as tears welled up in her eyes under her goggles. She saw the crowd forming a circle around the deceased omnic with what looked like a blade had been rammed through his chest plate. She looked around to see if she could spot the assailant again.

Starkiller had gotten in and out as fast as he could but the combination of his powers had left him exhausted to the point of passing out. He found an alley way to sit in as he touched his communicator. "Mission..acomplished..target is down." He was trying to catch his breath when he heard the footsteps of someone running closer to him. He got up trying to get away but he still couldn't teleport. He was sprinting away when he got blindsided and slammed into the wall by Lena.

"Why?! Why would you do this?" Tears were flowing down her cheeks as she yelled the question at him. Starkiller didn't say anything back but tried to reach for his sword. Lena pinned his arm back stopping his motion. "Answer me!" Starkiller's eyes were wide behind his mask, this girl was persistent.

Starkiller was trying to bide his time until the transport arrived. He teleported away from her but when she tried to blink after him her chronal accelerator malfunctioned and sent her to her knees in pain. She was gasping to breathe she was starting to go into a panic attack of being lost as a ghost again. Starkiller was just about to leave the alley when he heard her starting to gasp for air. He turned and saw her on all fours in full panic.

"No not again not again please I don't want to go." Lena started mumbling to herself not realizing Starkiller was still there. He took one sigh and went back and helped her up propping her against the wall. She thought this was going to be it for her. Her breathing was erratic she couldn't catch her breath. Being pinned up against the wall by someone she was just fighting probably didn't help calm her down. One last plead from her was all she could get out before her eyes rolled back and she passed out cold. Starkiller was still propping her limp body against the wall before he reached into her coat pocket pulling out her wallet. Her Overwatch badge fell out when he tried to locate her address. _Overwatch._ He thought to himself. He put the badge back in her pocket and hoisted her over his shoulder. He made his way back towards her apartment trying to still stay out of sight of anyone.

Some while later Lena was starting to wake up but was still struggling to come to. She was looking at the ground below her moving. She tried getting up but didn't have the strength to do so. "Please, don't." She said before passing out again. When he finally made his way to the building, He teleported the two of them inside her room. He placed her on her bed and noticed her arm was still bleeding quite a bit from his cut.

He grabbed some towels and cleaned the wound up before he bandaged her arm up and left her on her bed. He was just about to leave when he looked back at her the words of Laio still holding meaning to his situation.

 _Without people like you, Overwatch and Talon are nothing._ He looked down ashamed. These people are risking their lives for something they believe in for dreams they are following.

"Shuttle is here where are you?" Reaper barked into his earpiece.

 _I'm just a gun being pointed in whatever direction they want._

"Had to take care of a witness. On my way." He cut the feed off still ashamed of what he did. The look of panic on her face reminded him of the first person he killed, the other lab rat he had to put down for survival.

"For survival." He said under his breath, answering her question of why he killed the monk. "I did this for survival."


	4. Blurred Lines

Lena started to come out of it before she started rubbing her head trying to wake up fully, it took her a while to realize but she was back in her room. She looked around and started feeling around her bed and her body.

 _I don't think I'm dreaming._ She looked down and noticed her chronal accelerator wasn't there, but was actually hanging on it's charger, although still damaged. Though with her being in her apartment, she didn't have to worry too much with her home device being able to keep her anchored down as long as she stayed in the apartment complex.

 _Definitely not dreaming_. She said looking at the blue hue emitting from the device. The adrenaline had come down from the chase the previous night and the impacts from Starkiller's blasts were made apparent. Her whole body ached especially her back, probably from hitting the wall and the chronal device being jammed into her back from the impact.

 _What in the bloody hell happened last.._ her thoughts were cut short after she looked in her mirror hanging on her door seeing bloody soaked towels balled up in the corner. She went to go pick it up but saw her arm was wrapped up in bandages. It all started to come back to her, but she still didn't know how she got back to her home. She brought her arm up to her chest and started to massage it slightly with her other hand

"shhh ah bloody hell!" She yelped out touching it. It was clearly still tender and a fresh wound. Then it occurred to her when she looked out her window, she noticed it was still locked. She went and checked her front door and noticed it was locked too. She knew then he was the one who brought her back, but why?

She went to the bathroom to unwrap the bandage to see how bad the cut really was. Her T.V. was on in and she could vaguely here the news reports echo in her head.

"Tekhartha Mandatta was killed last night during the rally he was holding in King's Row last night." She closed her eyes at those words, stinging her ears reminding her of that she came up short. "Reports say the assailant was gone as soon as he appeared, authorities are asking for to call with any additional information." She finally took all of the bandages off seeing the deep cut that was that went the length of her forearm and slightly up her bicep. She looked at the wound and shook her head and slammed the sink in frustration letting out a loud grunt in anger.

 _Why, why do this._ She though to herself still trying to make sense of everything.

She heard her communicator going off in her bedroom before she went to go answer it.

"Lena? Lena come in."

"Hi Winston, what can I do for you?" Lena responded back.

Winston could tell she wasn't in her typical cheery mood. "I assume you heard what happened last night."

"Yea I..I was there. I tried to stop him. I couldn't" Lena dropped her head disappointed in herself."

"What you were there? Why didn't you call for backup? Are you ok? Do I need to send Angela out to do a check up on you."

"Relax Winston, I'm fine..I think. Though I'm kinda stuck at home. My chronal accelerator got damage in the scuffle I had." Lena said looking at it hanging on the charger with the big crack over the screen.

"I'll be out there shortly with my repair kit, are you sure you don't want me to bring Angela with me?" Lena was hesitant to answer but remained silent for a bit. "I'll bring her with me just in case." Winston answered for her.

"Thanks luv, I really do appreciate it." Lena said cutting the channel off. She was looking out her window still wondering who the assailant was.

* * *

Starkiller was back at base taking his armor off and winding down from his mission. Though he never really thought about anything but his own survival, something that always seemed to never be a certain thing in Talon for him, something compelled him to make sure that brunette haired Brit was safe. It was conflicting for him, but the sheer panic in her voice in the alley was something he couldn't ignore. He couldn't put his finger on it, but the feeling of saving her seemed, oddly familiar. He caught a glimpse of himself in his reflection without his armor. His body was a map of scars and wounds from the beatings he had taken from Reaper and the others at Talon. He leaned over the sink letting out a sigh. _How did it come to this._ Being in Talon he was purely acting on instinct to live, following orders, killing whoever he was told to. He was finally starting to question what happened to him, and how he ended up a lab rat.

He looked down at his arms clenching his fists making his aura flare up slightly in anger, before he slowly let it go. He felt like he was losing control of what little sanity he had left.

For the first time since he could remember, he was becoming concerned with something other than himself. Though Laio first put the thought of something bigger than himself in his mind, being caught in the situation of someone desperately calling out for help and him actually able to make a difference by doing something other than killing was something new.

"What took you so long to get to the rendezvous point?" Reaper asked coming into his room

"I already told you, there was a witness I had to take care of." Starkiller said trying to dismiss the suspicion in Reaper's tone.

"Based on those pulse shots that scuffed your armor, I'd say you ran into Tracer." Reaper said folding his arms. "She's one of Overwatch's best agents."

"So it seems." Starkiller said placing his sword and armor down in his closet. He was still unsure of where he stood as far as Talon. He pretty much knew he was Talon's teeth when they needed to take a bite, but as far as freedom's he still wasn't sure what he was. But at the same he didn't want to push the envelope at all. But he could tell Reaper wasn't letting this go.

"So you took care of her?"

"I neutralized her and took out the target. That's what you wanted right?" Starkiller finally shot back.

"I thought you took care of her after you took out the target." Reaper said. "At least that's why you said you were late."

"The target is down what does it matter if I came back a little late." Starkiller got up in Reaper's face meeting his gaze with his own. "What more do you want from me?" Starkiller's purple aura started to engulf his figure as his rage was growing.

"Careful there mut, we might have to pull you back on your leash if you keep barking like that." Reaper laughed slightly as his dark cloud was starting to engulf his figure.

"ENOUGH!" Both of them looked at Moira who had yelled to interrupt their ever growing rift between them. "He is right Gabriel, he's done everything we've asked of him, no need to make him feel on edge now."

Reaper scuffed at Moira for calling him that. "Just let me know when you want the mutt put in place." Reaper walked out brumping Moira's shoulder on his way out. Moira shook her head turning his attention back to Starkiller. "We have another target for you. One I think might provide a challenge for you, therefor you will be going in alongside Reaper, Akande, and Sombra."

"Who's Sombra" He asked.

"Another agent of expertise, not so much in assassinations but hacking. Her qualities will be an asset for you in this situation." Moira said starting to take notice of his room and how he kept it.

"Who is the target?" Starkiller asked trying to get this conversation over with.

Moira was fiddling with a biotic orb she formed. "A United Nation's official who is a great supporter of Overwatch and their funding, Morris Clayborne. His death would very beneficial to us."

"What is with you guys and Overwatch?" He asked abruptly. Moira absorbed the orb she had and extended a biotic stream grasping Starkiller's neck suffocating him in the process.

"It would be beneficial to your health not to question our motives. Less you want to end up as another failed experiment." He let out a gasp of air when she released her hold on him as she turned and started to leave his room. "Shuttle leaves in 30 minutes."

Moira left his room and met eyes with Akande. She gave him a little nod. Akande turned around and went to go meet Reaper on the launch pad before Starkiller was there.

"The boy is starting to question more. The council has already sanctioned for Moira to start over again from scratch." Akande said.

"So the boy is to be disposed of? Goooood. That mutt was getting on my last nerve." Reaper said as he cracked his knuckles

"We shall take care of the issue on this mission." Akande concluded as he motioned Starkiller to the launch pad. "Not until after the target is down though. He is a dangerous warrior remember that Gabriel." Starkiller caught the tail end of what Akande said but acted like he didn't notice it at all as they all boarded the shuttle to take off for their mission.

* * *

Lena was trying to relax watching T.V. waiting for Winston to arrive so he could fix her device so she could finally leave the building. She had started become restless as she was always on the move it seemed like. Her face lit up when she heard a knock at the door and she sprinted to open it but was stunned to see Commander Morrison with Winston and Angela.

"Commander, wasn't expecting you here." Lena said giving a bit of a smart ass salute. The salute though did show her cut and Jack took notice of it.

"Well Tracer," He grabbed her arm and pointed out her cut, "this would be why I'm here." He let go of her arm and entered with Winston squeezing through and Angela not far behind with her medical supplies.

Lena was trying to sit still as Angela was cleaning out the wound and prepared to stitch it closed. "This may sting a little Lena try to sit still." Lena was squirming in her chair a bit trying to muscle her way through the pain.

"You saw the man that killed Mondatta, and tried to stop him correct?" Jack asked looking out of her window with his hands folded behind his back. He turned at looked at Lena who simply nodded looking down still ashamed of failing to stop him. "We have reason to believe he is the same assailant who killed Laio." Jack added sitting down in front of her. "Did you get any clue as to who he is?" He asked.

Lena shook her head. "He was wearing an armor set with a helmet on, it covered him completely." Lena said wincing slightly at Angela finishing up patching her wound up. "He can vanish in thin air, but from the looks of it, he can only go a short distance." Lena said looking at her arm.

Jack leaned back in the chair and started rubbing his chin, "That would definitely explain a lot." Jack got up and nodded to Angela to follow him out. "Hurry up there Winston we have a meeting with representative Clayborne tomorrow." He looked at Lena. "He wants to see you too." Morrison and Angela left the apartment as Winston continued to fix the chronal accelerator.

Lena got up and went to see Winston work. She sat down and leaned on her good arm mesmerized by his work. "Something on your mind Lena?" Winston asked not taking his attention away from his work.

"Yea actually." Lena said sitting back and slumped in the chair. "Winston I think he brought me back here."

Winston stopped his work briefly and took his glasses off and looked at her with a confused look. "What makes you think that?"

"I caught him after he killed Mondatta." Lena started rubbing her chest where her chronal accelerator normally sat. "We were wrestling around and I had him, but he vanished out of my grasp. When I tried to blink after him," she paused looking at the device in Winston's hands. "I started to freak out and felt like I couldn't breathe. I thought I was gonna be a ghost again." Lena took a deep breathe regaining her composure. "He helped me up and I was so scared in that situation, I passed out." Lena got up and went to the window. "I vaguely remember being carried through the streets and the next thing I know, I'm in my bed with my arm wrapped up and the accelerator being hung on the charger." Lena turned around as her face shimmered in the sunlight gleaming through the window. "I don't know why but, I get the feeling he's the reason why I'm still here." Lena started tearing up a little.

Winston got up and gave her a hug and patted her on the back. "Don't worry Lena, you're here safe now, that's all that matters." Winston could feel her breathing sharply trying to hold back crying out.

"I just don't know why he did it, after he killed someone too."

"Who knows. People are strange in today's world." Winston said going back to work on the device. But Lena looked back out the window thinking there was something more to the man behind the helmet.


	5. For Whom the Bell Tolls

Lena accompanied Commander Morrison, Captain Amari, and Angela Zeigler in limbo escort provided by the U.N. They were all dressed in official formal Overwatch outfits, to Lena's disliking. This was the part of Overwatch Lena still had a hard time adjusting to. Growing up she was on the lower end of the middle class, but that didn't bother her much. Her small town vibe she thrived in was very apparent, given her small apartment and joys of going to the local pub to enjoy time with the other locals. The dressing up, the escorts and the formal meetings was still hard for her to get use to. Lena was messing around with her coat as it was making her chronal accelerator feel apparent on her chest.

"Stop messing with it you look fine." Angela said to her noticing her squirming in her seat.

"I hate dressing up for these things." Lena started pouting slightly in her seat. "I don't even know why I'm being dragged to this thing." She muttered under her breath.

"The U.N. officials want to talk to you directly because you are the only one still alive who has encountered this new threat." Morrison said straitening his tie.

Lena sunk back in her seat at that remark. She didn't realize she said that loud enough for him to hear her. Angela put a hand on her leg noticing her uncomfortable situation and gave her a little smile and comforting nod.

Lena leaned her head against the window looking outside up in the sky, still thinking of her encounter with the mystery assailant. Her arm was healed almost all the way but did have very visible scar on her forearm where the cut was at it's deepest.

"Clayborne said this was of the upmost importance, do you think it's connected to the recent assassinations?" Ana asked Morrison.

"It has to be, and I have a feeling Talon is the culprit behind them too. They tend to have a hand in these..freaks of nature running around." Morrison answered. He looked at Lena who was still daydreaming looking out the window.

"Tracer." She didn't answer to his call. "Tracer." He called louder this time. Angela nudged her with her elbow finally breaking Lena's trance.

"Hm? Oh haha sorry luv." She started scratching the back of her head out of embarrassment.

"There isn't anything else you remember about this killer? Nothing that stands out?" Morrison asked.

Lena let out a huge sigh, "I've already told you everything I remember. There ain't much else to tell." She turned back and started watching the buildings pass by through the window.

Morrison was visibly annoyed with her attitude but before he could say anything else, Ana put a hand on his and lowered it, shaking her head signaling him to let it go. Just then the limo stopped in front of the U.N. Embassy. The doors on either side were opened for them as officers held their salute waiting for the Overwatch agents to enter the building. On the inside there was a royal guard surrounding Clayborne who greeted Jack with a firm handshake.

"Commander Morrison, a pleasure as always." Clayborne said.

"Representative Clayborne, I wish we were meeting under better circumstances. Of course you know Captain Amari and Doctor Zeilger."

"Of Course, how could I forget such beautiful faces." Clayborne said shaking both of the ladies' hands. Lena rolled her eyes looking away examining the insides of the building bored already with conversation.

"And you must be Tracer." He stuck his hand out waiting to grab her hand.

Lena snapped her attention back and shook his hand, "Yep that would be me sir. It's an honor really." She tried putting on the facade to cover her true feelings of the meeting.

"So young to be an Overwatch agent." Clayborne remarked.

Lena had a visible look of disdain on her face at that remark. "Please accompany me to my office where we can discuss matters further." Clayborne said motioning for them to follow his lead.

* * *

The Talon shuttle was inbound to the rendezvous point as they were all going over the synopsis of the attack.

"You will have to go without your armor this time. Reaper said to Starkiller. "You and Sombra will be going incognito."

Starkiller took his helmet off as a suit replicating what they wore at the embassy was presented to him. He held it up examining in thoroughly noting it was very flimsy compared to his armor, understandably so. He already didn't like how this mission was shaping up for him

"Sombra will get you inside and will direct you from there via comms." Reaper added

"Why can't I go in with my abilities like the other times?" Starkiller asked.

"It's the U.N. embassy." Doomfist said, "There will be armed guards everywhere ready to take out anything suspicious. An armored assailant swinging a sword around is just that."

Starkiller took the suit into another room and stripped out of his armor and started dressing in the suit. He was dressed in the suit though some of the scars on his face were more visible now from his past years as a test subject with Talon. For the first time since he took up the alias "Starkiller" he took a good long look at himself. He paused for a minute to take in the sight of himself in the suit. He was nervous for this one. He had never left a Talon facility while showing his face. Normally he was covered head to toe in armor.

"We're almost there, are you ready?" Sombra asked knocking on his door. Starkiller didn't respond to her but just finished adjusting his tie and opened the door seeing Sombra examine him while biting her lip. "You clean up pretty good for a killer." She teased him. Starkiller wasn't amused and shook his head. Sombra placed an earbud in his ear, "Anybody asks you anything repeat what I say. Once you exit this shuttle you are Mark Johnson." She pins an I.D. card on the outer pocket of his jacket.

Reaper hands him a small silenced pistol that he takes and pockets it. "It's made of a special material so the metal detectors won't pick it up." Starkiller pulls either side of his suit down to straighten out his jacket as he felt the shuttle touch down signaling the start of this new type of stealth mission.

"We'll be here for pickup when you are done, Sombra will be closer to the embassy for immediate backup should you need it." Doomfist said to him as Starkiller exited the shuttle. It was a bit of a walk to the embassy for Starkiller, but he was drawing attention from people walking passed him. He was starting to feel self conscious about his appearance. "Looks like I'm not the only one who likes what they see." Sombra joked into his earpiece.

"I can't stay focused with you cracking jokes at every turn in my head." Starkiller said back in a low tone, still trying to stay subtle in the public.

"Oh relax amigo, the fun is only beginning." Sombra said. Starkiller entered the building trying his not to attract any unwanted attention his way. He was approached by the guards after entering the front doors, who scanned him for anything dangerous. He started to get nervouse when the device came close to where his weapon was, but as Reaper pointed out, the device didn't alert them to anything.

"Enjoy your day Mr. Johnson." The guard said allowing him to pass. Walking through he looked around examining the building and searching for possible escape routes should things go south.

"Proceed to the elevator, target is on the fourth floor." Sombra instructed. He wasted no time and walked in the elevator.

* * *

"Commander as I'm sure you have heard from the high profile assassinations, Talon seems to be on the rise of activity." Clayborne said sitting at his desk.

"With all due respect sir, how are we so sure Talon is behind this?" Morrison asked. He had his suspicion of the terrorist organization being behind them, but there was no concrete evidence linking them to the assassinations.

"The enhanced soldier program." Clayborne said.

"What about it?" Ana asked.

"About a couple years ago, there was a security breach on the database servers storing the information." Clayborne said. "Though the breach was contained, there was a digital fingerprint on the files regarding the research of the enhanced soldier program."

Morrison clenched his fists in frustration, this really solidified the link. "Lena this explains the assailants unique powers." Lena nodded her head agreeing with him.

"Talon likely made some..cruel adjustments to the research." Angela added.

"Why didn't anyone report this before?" Morrison asked.

"The U.S. didn't want to acknowledge the breach, and failed to disclose the information until there was a series of abductions that fit the candidates for the program." Clayborne said dropping a file with a huge classified stamp across the folder.

"You mean they took people to test on?" Lena asked appalled at the thought of that.

"Precisely. Once the government made the connection that the missing people reports corresponded with preferable candidates of the enhanced soldier program, only then did they report this to the U.N. And thus brings us here." Clayborne concluded. "Jack, you and I both know what the vile scientist are capable of there. Talon needs to be taken down once and for all."

* * *

Starkiller arrived on the fourth floor walking out of the elevator and started walking down the hall.

"Take the next left, his office will be the third door on the right." Sombra kept instructing him through the mission. He walked around the corner and came up to the door and looked around before he started to draw his weapon out.

"Wait not yet. Knock on the door first." Starkiller hesitated at first but followed her directions, concealing his weapon and knocked on the door.

"Uh..come in." Clayborne answered the knock confused as he wasn't expecting anyone. Starkiller opened the door and upon entering saw the Overwatch agents sitting down with all of them turning their heads examining him standing in the doorway.

"Can I help you?" Clayborne asked.

"Tell him you have an appointment to discuss U.S. internal affairs." Sombra said.

"I have an appointment to discuss U.S. internal affairs." Starkiller repeated.

Clayborne raised an eyebrow, "I don't recall setting up such a thing." He opened his computer up pulling up his calendar, but to his surprise, there was a reminder popping up. "Oh, ahem, my apologies Mr. Johnson, must have slipped my mind. Commander we will have to suspend this discussion for another time." All of the agents got out of their seats and started to exit the office. Lena was staring at Starkiller the entire time, with Starkiller returning the gaze. Upon exiting Lena narrowed her eyes at Starkiller. She had this unnerving feeling she knew him. The door closed behind him and he turned his attention back to his target.

"So remind me what was kind of affairs were we discussing?" Starkiller didn't respond to his question he just brought out his pistol and pointed at him ready to pull the trigger.

"Don't make a sound." Starkiller said. "I want some answers." Clayborne was practically trembling in his chair.

"Wh..wh..what do you want to know?" Clayborne replied.

"Who is Talon?" Starkiller asked.

"What are you doing? You don't have much.." Starkiller took his earpiece out ignoring Sombra.

"They're a terrorists organization that are striving for power in the world. At least that's what we believe." Clayborne didn't hesitate to answer that time.

Starkiller was visibly conflicted. He lowered his pistol and sat in one of the chairs holding his head deep in thought.

"If I may ask, what seems to be your reason for being here?" Clayborne started to become slightly less frightened.

"I'm suppose to kill you. But I don't know if it's the right thing to do." Starkiller holstered the pistol getting up from his chair. "No..it's not the right thing to do." He muttured under his breath. Just as he said that a shot rang through the window piercing Clayborne in the head. Starkiller was startled by the noise breaking the silence. On the roof he saw Sombra aiming a rifle and lifting it up over her shoulder. He put the comm back in his ear.

"You took to long." She said through the comms.

"Am I clear to exit?" Starkiller asked Sombra.

"The Overwatch agents are waiting at the end of the hall, as soon as you exit they will likely return to their meeting."

"Fuck this no power bullshit." Starkiller concentrated hard and teleported out of the building appearing behind the building on the ground floor. He took his suit off and threw it in a near by dumpster having on a tank top underneath. "Target down coming back to the rendezvous point now."

One of Clayborne's assistants came approached his office dropping a package off, but when she opened the door, shrieks of terror filled the hallway. The four Overwatch agents sprinted towards the door seeing Clayborne slumped in his chair blood dripping from his head and staining his chest.

"I knew there was something off about that guy." Lena said under her breath as she unholstered her pulse pistols and blinked quickly through the building looking for any trace of him. _He wont get away this time_. She thought to herself as she darted everywhere finding no sign of him. Remembering he could teleport, she blinked to the outside of the building and darted her head around looking for him. She saw what looked like a ship coming down for a landing off in the distance and took off to start looking around there.

Starkiller was slowly approaching the meet up point. As he got closer the shuttle came down for landing with Doomfist and Reaper waiting at the door. Starkiller knew something was up now with how they were standing there.

"Good job." Reaper said. But as he did he drew his shotgun and pointed at Starkiller. Starkiller smirked slightly and started shaking his head. "What's so funny?" Reaper asked not amused at all.

"Do you know how much I hate you?" Starkiller said slowly approaching them. His aura was starting to glow and become more radiant with each step he took. "Every day you tortured me, you beat me down mercilessly. I wanted to kill you." He came within an arms reach of him. "And even after everything I've done for you and for this shit hole of an organization, you still treat me like a whipping boy."

"Don't give yourself too much credit boy." Reaper said. You're still no more than a mutt." Reaper pulled the trigger as Starkiller dodged the shot blasting him and Doomfist back into the shuttle causing a loud booming noise.

Lena heard the noise and saw the smoke erupting a couple of blocks down. "I know where he's at meet me at my location." Lena said into her comms as she darted down the street.

Reaper was firing blast after blast but Starkiller was avoiding and blocking each blast with ease. Doomfist tried landing one of his rocket punches on him but Starkiller gracefully dodged it like avoiding a charging bull. During the commotion, Starkiller managed to get his sword back and darted towards Reaper stabbing him straight through his gut, which was met by a grunt of pain from Reaper. Reaper slowly chuckled in that low cackle. "Didn't you know mutt? You can't kill what isn't living."

Starkiller twisted his blade inside Reaper which made Reaper howl out in pain. "Doesn't mean I can't try." Starkiller withdrew his blade and kicked Reaper away before avoiding Doomfist once more firing another energy blast knocking him back too. Starkiller was winning the fight with relative ease, and he was relishing in every moment.

"Oi!" Starkiller turned around and saw Lena standing at the end of the alley way. Doomfist took the rocket punched Starkiller into the wall and charged at Lena. Lena blinked out of the way and fired her pistols at Doomfist that he blocked with his massive gauntlet. Starkiller gathered himself as he saw Reaper slowly get up as well.

Lena was rapidly blinking around before Doomfist caught her and punched her against the wall causing her to yelp in pain. As she was slowly starting to get up, Starkiller noticed Reaper point his gun at the unsuspecting Brit. He wasted no time and teleported in front of her tackling her out of the way as Reaper fired the blast from his shotgun.

"We must go now! We've already wasted enough time." Doomfist commanded. The two of them retreated to the shuttle and started to ascend and go back to base.

Lena grunted in pain and moved Starkiller off of her, but she noticed there was a considerable amount of blood on her clothes. She patted herself down checking to where she was hit, but she couldn't find anything. Then she saw Starkiller with a pellet spread in his back. She knelt down and rolled him on his side with a confused look on her face. But before she could say anything at all Starkiller let out a low grown almost at a whisper's tone.

"I'm sorry."


	6. Friend or Foe

The agents had brought Starkiller, who had fallen unconscious from his wounds, back to watchpoint Gibraltar to bandage him up. Angela had no trouble picking the pellets from the shotgun blast out of him and patching up the wounds on his back. All the while she was doing this, Lena stood watching him lay in the recovery bed. She was having mixed feelings for the man that saved her life, again. He had killed two people that were beacons of hope, and progressive change. Liao, one of the founding members of Overwatch, the organization that stood for settling the Omnic crisis, and took down anyone opposing peace. But the one she was still mad about was Tekhartha Mondatta. The omnic monk that was pushing for relations of humans and omnics to be resolved and live together in harmony. And yet, she couldn't help but feel guilty of hating him at the same time. Twice he had practically been her guardian angel. She didn't know what to think of him.

 _Why did he say sorry_? She thought to herself closing her eyes and leaning slightly forward. She was pressing her head against the glass holding her eyes shut tight with her fists clenched tight in frustration as well.

"You doing ok?" McCree put a hand on her shoulder startling her slightly.

"Oh yeah I'm dandy no worries here." She said trying to fool the cowboy with her facade. But he wasn't buying any of it. Still he chose not to press the matter further.

"Rumors are circling around the facility that this is the guy that killed Liao." McCree said looking at Angela finishing up patching him up.

"Those are still just rumors." Morrison said walking to the two with Ana by his side. "We don't want to assume anything until we know for sure what happened."

"It was him. I know it." Lena said. Her demeanor and tone changed drastically from her up beat and chipper attitude. Everyone noticed it as well. Before McCree could say anything about it, Angela exited the medical lab with her exam completed of the assailant.

"He's stable. He's on a drip of sedatives to prevent use of his abilities." Angela said placing her pen in her pocket. "Whoever did this to him, was very thorough and reckless at the same time."

"How so?" Ana asked.

"Thorough for the extent of implants and combinations of foreign substances circling through his system so that his molecular structure still reassembles after dispersing when he shifts, or whatever you want to call it what he does. Reckless in the sense of the disregard for the side effects of what doing all of this to a man will result in." Angela said pulling up a picture that showed the results of her body scan.

"This is what Clayborne was talking about wasn't he?" Morrison asked as Angela put the scan results back in her folder.

"Unfortunately so. This is a barbaric variation of the enhanced soldier program." Angela concluded. "The biotic amplifiers placed throughout his body should have killed him upon activation, but somehow," she paused and turned to look at him still laying unconscious on the exam table. "There he is."

"We'll need to plan a course of action to take this out ASAP. If Talon figured out how to do this with one, they will be unstoppable with an army." Morrison said.

"I don't feel comfortable leaving him alone like this." Angela said looking at the man.

"We need you to present your results to the U.N. and get their backing to form our assault on Talon." Morrison replied.

"I'll stay with him." Everyone looked at Lena who still didn't break her look with her savior. "I'll keep an eye on him, you do what you need to do." Lena said.

"If anything happens, even if he just wakes up let me know. We still don't fully know what he's capable of." Angela said as everyone left. Lena entered the lab and pulled up a chair and sat by the man's bedside. She folded her arms waiting for the man to wake up. She had her own agenda she was following and her own questions that she wanted answered but the more she looked at him, the more guilty she felt. The man couldn't have been any older than she was, and yet his scars told a tale as if he was a seasoned veteran.

She leaned in closer taking notes of the cuts and gashes throughout is chest, likely where they made incisions to operate on him. Other wounds looked like battle scars, gunshot wounds that still left there mark on his body. Others looked like cuts, but more reckless, maybe from training or something of the sorts. Most noticeably she saw scars on his wrists that appeared to be from struggling to escape from being tied and bound. She reached out her hand and felt the rough patch of scars and moved her hand up his arm, tracing his flesh with her fingers feeling his muscles and the unnatural landscape from the rest of his scars.

"What happened to you.." She said under her breath.

"Your hands are a bit colder than the doctor's." Lena jumped at the response, immediately pulling her hand back and standing up hovering her hand over one of her pulse pistols. Starkiller slowly turned his head around and opened his eyes clearly still under the effect of the sedative. "What's happening? Where am I?" He asked as he tried to get up but noticed he couldn't move his hands too far up, as he was cuffed to each side of the railing on the bed.

"Your in Gibraltar." She kept her answer short trying to feel out how he was going to react.

"Gibraltar?" He repeated as he relaxed in the bed not tugging at his cuffs anymore. "Overwatch, heh. Knew there was something off when I was in a bed instead of a metal table." He said closing his eyes for a long blink. He opened his eyes slowly looking at the I.V. hooked up to him and rolled his head around a bit on the pillow. "Why do I feel so, odd?"

"Dr. Zeigler has you on some pain killers that are making you drowsy." Lena started to calm down a bit sitting back in her chair.

"I see." He said squirming a bit in his bed. Lena raised an eyebrow at the remark before seeing his hands clench up every so often.

"You're..hurting aren't you?" She asked.

"No more than I usually do. The shotgun shell I took to the back probably isn't helping either."

Lena looked at him clearly in a great deal of pain feeling more and more guilty of putting him through this. She slumped back in the chair twiddling her thumbs trying to pass the time.

"Thank you, by the way." she finally said after sitting in silence for a bit.

Starkiller looked over at her seeing her face blush and her looking down at her hands. "I couldn't let Reaper win in any extent. That son of a bitch needs to pay."

"No not that." Starkiller raised an eyebrow at her response. "The night in King's Row when you took me home." He raised an eyebrow before he saw her look at him rolling her eyes. "I know it was you." She said standing up going to the window. "But why did you do it?" She turned around asking him.

"I don't know, I guess it seemed like the right thing to do." He said, but Lena's brow furrowed as she approached his bed side and grabbed both of his shoulders and got right up in his face.

"Then why did you kill Liao? Why did you kill Mondatta?" She raised her voice becoming more visibly upset. Starkiller didn't say anything completely at the mercy of Lena's temper. She let out a sigh and let go of him slumping back in the chair.

"Let me ask you, what would happen if Overwatch ordered you to do something if you knew it was wrong?" He asked Lena grabbing her attention.

"They wouldn't."

"But if they did. Somehow in someway you are in a position to pull the trigger to end someones life even though every fiber in your body is telling you its wrong. What do you do?"

Lena looked down thinking for a minute. "I wouldn't do it."

"Fair enough. What would Overwatch do to you?"

"What do you mean?"

"For disobeying orders. What would be the repercussions?"

"Uh well I don't know. I guess I would be reprimanded somehow."

Starkiller grimaced in pain slightly shifting in the bed. "Now keeping that in mind, this is what Talon did to me for following their orders. Imagine what they would do if I didn't follow orders."

As much as Lena didn't want to admit it, he did have a point. "I didn't have a choice what I wanted to do. From the earliest I can remember, above all else I was just trying to make it to the next day." Starkiller's fists were starting to clench in anger. "Tomorrow was never guaranteed. Between the the tests and drugs being cranked into us, to being pinned against each other to see who was stronger." Starkiller just started shaking his head. "Survival was my only priority. It was..all I had."

Lena sat in silence not exactly wanting to say anything in response. She was mad at him, furious for everything he had done. But at the same time she finally realized he was in a kill or be killed kind of situation. "I don't expect you to forgive me, or even understand either. I guess I'm selfish for only looking out for myself." Starkiller sarted venting without even realizing it. "So many nights I thought it was going to be my last. Then when they revealed it was only two _subjects_ left living, me and this other guy, they made us fight to see who was the strongest." Starkiller stared in front of him recalling the time of his first kill. "They weren't going to let both of us leave, neither of us would until one was left standing. I tried talking him down, I really did. But he had the same idea as me. Survival." He paused looking down shaking his head. "When he knew the inevitable was about to happen, the sheer look of terror was covering him."

As he was about to finish he felt Lena's delicate soft hand grab his arm, but not in an aggressive matter. The soft touch was so foreign to him he looked up at her surprised, as he saw tears welling up in her eyes. "It's ok." Was all she said before she brought her other hand up and started wiping his face. He had started tearing up as well recalling the nights at the Talon facility. He didn't even realize until he was taken away from his memory he was becoming so emotional.

"Guess I was getting a little carried away." He chuckled a bit as he was still sniffling a bit.

"It's fine, I knew Talon was cruel but I guess I never thought of the..details I guess." Lena said sitting back in her chair. "What's your name? Like your real name?"

"My real name?" Starkiller questioned. He thought to himself for a minute darting his eye around. "I..I don't remember. Before Starkiller I was always referred to as test subject S-13" He turned his arm around and it showed a tattoo "S-13" on the inside part of his forearm.

"Talon wiped your memory then?" Lena asked examining his arm.

"I guess, they must have. To be honest I can't really remember anything before being kept at that facility. Its all just a big blur."

"Really?" Lena questioned finding it hard to believe. "Well Talon does have a habit of messing with peoples heads and minds."

"They never did anything to my head." He replied.

"Well how would you really know?"

Starkiller looked down and at his scars on his arms and chest. "We were awake for all the procedures they performed on us. That was where most of the others died. We were kept awake when they put the implants in us."

Lena covered her mouth with her hand at the revelation. "That's..cruel."

"That was life there though." he said. "Those who were strong enough were the only ones that survived. Their way of weaning out the weaker ones." *SMACK* "Ouch."

Lena smacked the back of his head after he said that. "No, people don't think like that. That's not right."

"Tell me what do you see when you look at me then, matter of fact why are you even here. Aren't you guys going to finish what Talon was trying to do? Isn't that why I'm strapped down like the mutt I am?" He was starting to getting angry when asking those questions. His aura was starting to become more ambient and glow bright. The sedatives were starting to wear off it seems.

Lena got up startled at first but kept her composure overall. "You want to know what I see?" She yelled back at him trying to drown out his increasing tone. She undid his restraints to his surprise. He was shocked, how could she trust him at all with what has transpired between the two so far. He started rubbing his wrists that were bound by the cuffs. "I see someone who has a chance at a fresh start."

"How could you say that? After everything I've done." He was sitting up in the bed before Lena tossed him a white T-shirt.

"But that wasn't your choice, you said it yourself. When you did have a choice you chose right."

"When did I have a choice?" He said putting the shirt on.

"You didn't kill me when you had the chance did you?" Lena smiled as she said that. The response made him blush slightly. His aura was starting to diminish as Lena calmed him down.

"How do your powers work? I know you can teleport and have a hell of a kick to your blasts." Lena joked slightly rubbing her chest where he hit her.

"Yea sorry about that." He rubbed the back of his neck out of embarrassment. "If I'm being completely honest, I don't really know. It's more of a reaction, like jumping back when your scared. And it's not exactly teleporting. I manipulate my molecules and can control my density, so essentially I turn into mist." Lena raised her eyebrow at the explanation. "I don't fully understand it myself, but the blasts," he said holding up his hand and forming an energy ball in his hand, "are really the only thing I can control." Lena's eyes went wide looking at the purple ball of energy lighting up the room. "I can only do them in small bursts. They take a lot out of me." He hunched over the bed. "What about you, how do your powers work?"

Lena's smile faded as she looked down to her chronal accelerator. "They aren't powers, more like side effects." She touched the metal that had a blue hue and a light hum from the accelerator working. "A couple of years ago I was selected to test pilot a prototype jet that Overwatch had developed, the Slipstream. It was suppose to be able to jump through space, teleport if you will. But the jet malfunctioned and I became what they deemed 'chronally disassociated' with time. Basically I couldn't stay put in time and I was a ghost, until Winston made this device that keeps me anchored here." She never broke eye contact with the device as she told the story.

"That's why you freaked out in the alley that night." He said. She simply nodded.

"Ever since I was brought back, people have told me I'm a very touchy feely person I can't help it. When you lose the ability to touch or feel anything, or anyone, you start to relish the times when you can." She reached out and touched the his arm again feeling his muscles and tracing the s-13 tattoo on his arm. There was a silence after she said that as she caught Starkiller's blue eyes gazing into her hazel eyes. She blushed a little as they both looked away. "Anyway, this device can allow me to manipulate time around me, and reverse time for a short time frame."

"Reverse time?" Starkiller asked.

Lena nodded, "Only for like a 5 second interval, so really enough time negate something quick or instant. But kind of like you it takes a lot of juice out of the device, and I can't blink or recall for a while if I use too much energy at once."

"Looks like we are both fucked up results from some bad tests." He joked, Lena giggling along with him.

* * *

"So you believe this, weapon as you put it, is the result of Talon's tampering with the enhanced soldier research?"

"That's what I concluded from examining the subject." Angela responded. Ana, Angela, and Jack were on a vid comm detailing the ambassador of Starkiller's examination. "He doesn't seem to be a threat at the moment but I will continue to run tests to see the extent of the tampering Talon has done."

"I'll let the U.N. officials know of this and I will direct you with how they want to proceed." The ambassador said back cutting the transmission and returned to his desk . He pulled up a messenger on his computer and started typing away.

 _S-13 has not been terminated._

 **HQ:** _Status and location?_

 _Watchpoint Gibraltar, alive and functional. currently being subjected to testing by Dr. Zeigler._

 **HQ:** _Confirmed. await further orders._

Just like that the message box had disappeared from his computer.


	7. Redemption

"Do you think the U.N will take our findings to heart?" Ana asked. "Ever since the war ended the U.N. seem to drag their feet when it comes to any of our reports or leads."

"This time may be different. There have already been multiple public covering resulting from this weapon." Jack said. "If we know one thing, it's that they react faster when the public knows something is up."

Jack and Ana along with Angela were making their way back to the lab where they were keeping their _guest_ for the time being after explaining to the U.N. what they had discovered from Angela's examination. Though unsure of how long it will take before they make their next move, the three decided it was better to decipher more information from the subject.

Lena was still keeping Starkiller company as they talked more about their past, at least what Starkiller could remember from his past. "I still don't know why you are even considering listening to me." Starkiller said looking down at his hands as he was sitting over the edge of the exam table.

"Angela always said I see the good in people, that I may do that to a fault as well. But I always think that no matter what happened to someone, there is always room for a change of heart." Lena said proudly looking out of the window.

"She's right you know." Starkiller said. Lena turned and looked at him making her brow furrow with frustration. "If you were at that facility and you tried to think like that while being held captive, you would have been killed."

"That's different though."

"How so?"

"Life isn't normal with Talon, they treat people like tools. If they run their course, they dispose of them and get another one." She replied.

"Get another one." Starkiller repeated under his breath holding his head up with his hand. "Still none the less, the world isn't all sunshine and all that jazz. People tend to see what you've done and have already made their judgement based on it."

"I don't do that."

"Your naive then."

"Am I? I think it makes me considerate."

"These days extending a hand to a stranger will only get it lopped off. It's better to assume the worst will happen." Lena didn't respond to that, as she knew his view was a very crude one compared to hers, but it wasn't unjustified. Lena let out a little sigh before scratching at her uniform.

"bollocks this formal wear is unbearable, mind if I change out of these?" Lena asked.

"I guess, I don't think you really need to ask me to do so."

"Well I mean I have to leave the room real quick so I guess what I'm saying is don't go while I'm gone." She said with a little smirk and wink. She blinked into the other room and just as quickly as she was gone she came back wearing a white tank top that cut off just below her torso showing her tight abs and black shorts showing plenty of her smooth legs. The outfit left nothing to the imagination. "Ah much better. I absolutely despise wearing the formal rubbish."

"Clearly." Starkiller added. He tried not to look at her too much but clearly was struggling to control his wandering eye. It was almost impossible though, she sat so innocently in her chair completely unaware of looks she was drawing from Starkiller. "You aren't quite like your typical girls these days are you?" He said.

"What's that suppose to mean?" She asked.

"Not very worried about showing a lot of skin are you?" He said as he caught himself once again looking at her long legs as she was slumped back in her chair.

Lena rolled her eyes as she was smiling at the remark. "I guess you could say I always had a tom-boyish attitude. Never really got all that into the girly stuff, loved playing sports and all that." Starkiller scuffed a little appreciating her honesty.

"I'm sure your parents were proud of the fact you didn't hide from who you were." He added.

"I wouldn't know, my parents died in the Omnic war when it first started. I grew up in an orphanage. Bounced around houses a lot, was kind of the troublesome type no one had the patience for." Lena said playing with her hair.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know."

Lena looked back at him and smiled a little, "No worries love, you couldn't have." She still played with her hair, clearly on edge about something but Starkiller didn't want to ask or push the envelope any further. She was the first person he could ever recall to treat him like a person.

Starkiller let out a big sigh. "What's going to happen to me?" He asked her. His tone turned much more soft and timid. There was some genuine fear in his voice.

"If I'm being completely honest, I don't know at all. The fact that you are here and not being taken to the authorities in London would make one think there is something more going on."

"Something more as in?" He asked.

"Don't know, they don't really tell me things like this unless I'm involved in the mission. Commander says I've got a big yap that blabbers too much. You believe that?" She replied back.

"Hardly." He said trying to hold back his smile. Just as the room was falling silent, the door opened as Jack, Ana, and Angela let themselves in.

"Lena what is he doing out of his restraints." Angela asked looking at the man sitting up in the bad.

"He looked uncomfortable and was in a bit of pain." Lena replied gaining the disapproving look from all 3.

"He could have killed you and escaped." Ana said.

"With all due respect, I have no intention on escaping." Starkiller spoke up gaining the attention of everyone in the room.

"That a fact?" Morrison asked. Though his tone seemed not as aggressive as Starkiller thought it would be, which was odd. He was cautious, outside of Lena, he didn't trust a soul. Though the fact that Overwatch nursed him back from his injuries was a good start.

"It would seem Talon has no need for me anymore, which is why Reaper and Doomfist were attempting to kill me before your friend here intervened." Starkiller said motioning over towards Lena. She simply smiled and waved her goofy little look sitting in the chair. "I'd be dead if it weren't for her."

"Just returning the favor love." She said with a slight giggle and wink.

Morrison put his hand up to stop the banter from Lena. Though this man was blunt, he did seem to command a lot of respect from others Starkiller noticed. "Who are you?" Morrison asked.

"If you're asking for a name, I'm afraid I can't answer that for you. The only name Talon gave me was Starkiller." The answer caused Morrison to look back at the other two who shrugged their shoulders.

Starkiller looked down at the ground. "I'm by no means trying to justify my actions, but please understand I had no choice in the matters. I didn't want to kill them, but Talon took the choice away from me." Morrison looked back again at the other two who didn't have any reaction to what he just said "I'll cooperate with anything you guys ask me to do." Before Starkiller could say anymore Morrison once again put his hand up stopping him from rambling anymore.

"This isn't our first rodeo with Talon son, we know what they are capable of." Morrison motioned Angela to come over for another examination now that he was awake and lucid. "What can you tell me about Talon? What are they planning? Where were you kept? How many others are like you?"

Starkiller went wide eyed from all the questions taken a little off guard and was visibly flustered from processing everything. Angela took a seat on the bed next to him and placed a gentle hand on his back.

"Breathe. Relax, now one at a time, do you know what Talon is planning?" Starkiller shook his head. "Ok ok. Do you know where you were being kept." Again Starkiller shook his head no.

"Ok well what do you know?" Morrison asked. He was a bit more assertive with his tone.

"Whatever test, or experiment, or whatever you want to call me, I'm the only survivor. All the others died throughout the process." He said folding his hands and resting his elbows on his knees.

"And you don't recall your name or who you were correct?" Angela asked. Starkiller nodded.

"Wait didn't Clayborne say there were missing people reports that might have been linked with Talon?" Lena popped up and said. "Couldn't you look through them and see if we can find his picture and boom, we know who you are"

"Thats a good idea Lena." Angela said as she went to her computer to pull up the files up. As she started to type away Ana walked up observing the I.V. still in his arm.

"How are you feeling?" She asked.

Starkiller shrugged his shoulders. "As well as I can be I guess." Ana observed the drip and looked at the bag seeing it was still full of the sedative.

"Apparently your body quickly develops a tolerance to drugs, likely how you survived all the toxins Talon pumped into you." She said. Then she took notice of the tattoo on his arm, but didn't say anything. Starkiller noticed her glaring at his arm. She seems to be the observant type. Seems it would go hand in hand seeing her sniper rifle slung around her back. They always are good at being silent observers.

"This is odd." Angela said still scrolling through the pages on her computer.

"What is it?" Morrison asked.

"I've gone through all the pictures with the reports, but none of them appear to be our guest here." Angela looked up at Starkiller still sitting on the edge of the bed. "Would you mind coming over here to see if you recognize any of the people here." Starkiller nodded as he tried to get up, struggling a bit from his wounds. Lena offered her shoulder to lean on as he limped over with her help to the desk. He studied every one of the pictures there and started to nod his head slowly.

"Yea, they were there with me. Some I don't recognize too well. Memory is still a little fuzzy, but most of them look familiar." Lena helped him back to the bed as he sat down giving a little gesture with his head thanking her.

"Is there any possible way Talon abducted people elsewhere in the world?" Lena asked.

"Not likely." Ana responded. "See look, all of them were living in the south west part of the United States. Their testing was likely well funded, but they wouldn't want to waste too much money in transporting them too far."

"Which means their facility must be somewhere in that area." Morrison concluded.

"Precisely."

"We still need to take this one step at a time, and likely exercise caution to the extreme." Morrison said turning his attention back towards Starkiller. "While I know you said you have no intentions of escaping, we can't take any chances of Talon putting some kind of fail safe device in you."

"You mean like a bomb?" Lena asked.

"A bomb, or some kind of kill command that they can activate remotely." Morrison motioned for McCree to come in while bringing out a pair of handcuffs and put them around Starkiller's wrists. "We are going to keep you in our detention wing while Angela can run more exams on you."

"Jack this isn't necessary!" Lena yelled at him.

"No he's right." Lena looked at Starkiller. "If what you say is true about Talon, then this is necessary." Lena looked away frustrated. "For your sake." That caught her attention again.

McCree helped him up and started walking him out of the office. Lena was left watching him go as the door closed behind him, but just before the door closed all the way, she caught him looking back at her with sorrowful eyes.

"We can't trust him. He needs to be under surveillance at all times." Morrison said as he started to exit the lab as well.

"What why? What has he done to show we can't trust him?" Lena asked

"Need I remind you he's killed one of our own. He almost killed you as well." Morrison shot back at her. "We still don't know his angle, if he has one. Nor do we know what Talon plans on doing next if they are somehow able to track him down. We can't take any chances." Morrison said as he left the lab.

"If it's any consolation, besides the biotic amplifiers in his body, there was no other foreign objects detected in the scan." Angela said.

"That rules out any tracking devices." Ana said. She didn't have much knowledge in medicine at all, but she did know that the sedative he was on shouldn't have worn off that quickly. "What do you think of his tolerance of drugs." She asked Angela.

"He has a high tolerance of toxins, no thanks to Talon of course." She responded.

"No..no he said Talon never used any sedatives when going through the procedures and operations." Lena interjected.

"Talon did more to him than just implant amplifiers in him. Jack is right, we need to be careful around him." Ana said before exiting the lab as well.

Both Lena and Angela sighed before studying the reports trying to figure out some sort of link they were missing.

* * *

"You look like you've had it rough kid." McCree said as the two walked through the base.

"Yea, that's one way of putting it." Starkiller responded.

The two walked silently as the eyes of the other Overwatch agents studied the stranger walking through the halls. Some started to talk among themselves which could be heard at some points.

" _That's the lab rat from Talon."_

 _"He was the one who killed Liao wasn't he?"_

 _"We should just put him down."_

Starkiller was keeping his eyes locked to the ground as he and McCree turned the corner and entered the elevater to take them down to the detention level.

"Folks like to talk here. You've been the talk of the town since they brought you back from King's Row." McCree said leaning back against the railing folding his arms.

"So it seems." His gaze still never broke from the floor, too ashamed of looking up at anyone. McCree took the cuffs off his wrists to his surprise.

"For the record I hope they find out who you were. Shame not knowing where you come from."

"The Brit seems to be on the same train of thought as you."

"Oxton? Heh, always had a soft spot for the broken." Starkiller looked at him funny after that remark.

"Don't take it to heart. Only meant shes the kind that will help up anyone, even if that hand just smacked her." The elevator doors opened revealing several cell doors, but the rooms were still miles away better than what he ever had at Talon. McCree opened the door letting Starkiller enter. After locking the cell door behinf him, McCree pulled up a chair at the end of the hall and leaned it back against the wall and kicked his feet up on the desk in front of him, as he started to pick the strings of his guitar he had sitting by.

"They always have you on guard down here?"

"Mostly. Never much cared for all the political red tape bull shit they go through up there. I just go where the wind takes me. Or where Morrison directs me." He replied still plucking the stings in a harmonic tune.

"What's your story?" The question made McCree stop playing as he looked up at Starkiller standing in the cell. "You seem different from everyone else here?"

"You got an eye on you kid, what gave it away?"

"Your posture." McCree got up from his chair and walked over to the cell door. "Everyone has a very professional stiff posture, maybe except the Brit. You seem a little more relaxed."

"Hm relaxed." McCree scoffed. "You couldn't be farther from the truth son."

"So what is it?"

McCree took a deep breath and was looking Starkiller in his eyes. "A tale for another moon son." McCree returned back to his chair and picked up his guitar again lighting a cigar and taking a big puff from it. He tipped his hat forward hiding his face from Starkiller. "Let's just say you wouldn't be the first one who got a second chance here." McCree started playing a few chords in a very soothing manner as Starkiller started to take in his room.

He had a small window to look out of. It didn't have much of a view, but it did show a pleasant view of the ocean outside. He had never seen the Ocean so calm before, he was mesmerized by it, hypnotized by the steady flow of the tide. He decided to try and get comfy in the bed. He hadn't gotten a lot of sleep in, well, ever. At least a sleep that wasn't induced by some sort of drugs. He dosed off fairly quick falling into a sound sleep.

Nothing could wake him up, until he heard something too familiar. The sound of water dripping. His eyes shot opened. The room was dimly lit from the moonlight shining through the window. Starkiller started to panic a little, breathing heavy thinking he was back at the Talon facility. He sat up in bed looking around trying to gather his bearings sweating profusely from be woken up so suddenly.

"You ok?" That voice immediately calmed him down. That soothing voice that welcomed him into a calm state of mind. He looked out of his cell and saw Lena sitting where McCree was before. He started to get his breathing under control before finally letting a soft response.

"Why are you down here?"

"Commander wants someone to keep an eye on you, and Jesse had been down here all afternoon so I gave him a little break." She said back. He couldn't see her face but he could tell she was still wearing that small little smirk.

"How long have you been sitting there?"

She got up and approached the cell door. Her face glowed in the moonlight as she leaned against the bars. "Don't know, kinda lost track of time myself." She chuckled slightly. He got up out of bed and came face to face with her, only the cell bars between them.

"Thank you. For everything you've done for me." He said to her.

"You don't have to thank me."

"I do. You could have killed me for what I've done." He turned away from her, "You should have killed me for what I've done." He felt her hand on his shoulder. She was trying her best to comfort him as he obviously in some sort of mental turmoil.

"You had no choice. You can't blame yourself. We've already been over this." He felt her touch go away before he heard the lock on the door click. He turned around and saw her open the door standing in the door way. "Despite everything that has happened here, I want you to know you can trust me. You can trust us." She walked up to him coming slowly, Starkiller not exactly knowing what to expect. Then she embraced him pulling him tight against her body and wrapping her arms around him. His arms were still at his sides, as he wasn't sure what to do.

"As long as you're here, I won't let anything happen to you." She whispered in his ear. His arms then rose and wrapped loosely around her, finally starting to embrace her as he whispered back into her ear after holding tightly onto her.

"Thank you."

* * *

Maximilian entered the lab where Moira was hard at work

"How goes the progress?" Maximilian asked entering the lab.

Moira dropped her notepad to go type away at her computer making sure the monitoring system for the test tube was on schedule and fully functional.

"Excellent. Test subject S-14 has been constructed and the accelerated growth has been initiated. It should be fully grown within two weeks. After which we will begin DNA splicing and integrating the biotic amps into it's system."

"This one better be more obedient than the last, it was the most progress we had made without the subject molecular structure becoming unstable."

"I believe we isolated the problem with S-13 and have rectified it with the proper mental conditioning with this one. It won't be a reoccurring issue." She replied.

"For your sake, I hope you are right." The omnic started to exit the lab. "Your research has been supported for quite a while now, we need to start seeing consistent results."

Moira clenched her fists out of frustration. Maximilian had this way of talking to you like you were his equal, but at the same time making you feel inferior. The omnic was practically untouchable in Talon, for it was his funds that supported most, if not, all of Talon's activities.

"He's right you know." Reaper said creeping out of his corner. "We are spending an awful lot of time playing doctor here. What is the point of all of this anyway? If you want someone dead just send me for the deed."

"You were only a prototype to what I am capable of making. And you were also already dead when we brought you back." She tapped on his mask. "You of all people should know why you would never work." Moira turned back to her test tube observing the organism in it. "Talon will have its shining moment. And when they do, I'll be recognized as most ambitious and brilliant scientist in the world. People will rival me with God with my knowledge and scientific prowess."

Reaper folded his arms not amused by her basking in herself. "One step at a time genius. Make something that won't break this time."

Sombra entered the lab shortly after almost running in. "Moira we have a problem."

"I'm busy at the moment." She responded keeping her focus on her work.

"It's about S-13."

She paused immediately. This caused Reaper to unfold his arms and creep over towards the hacker. "What about him, Akande and I took care of him. I blasted the little bastard away."

"Apparently not well enough amigo, Overwatch has him."

"How could they possibly have him, nobody could have survived a shotgun blast point blank."

Moira turned her attention to the hacker and Reaper finally breaking away from her project. "What do you know."

Sombra typed away at her holopad and pulled up the video call that Overwatch made to the U.N. Moira started rubbing her forehead in frustration. "Who else knows about this?"

Sombra pulled up the messages she had exchanged with the double agent stationed in the U.N. "I intercepted his messages, nobody knows but us and him."

Moira let out a sigh of relief, "Good." She turned her attention to Reaper. "You need to take care of the informant at the U.N., make it look like an accident so the council won't suspect anything."

"I don't take orders from you." Reaper scowled back at her.

"You're going to start now, this is on you why he isn't dead. I won't take the fall for your short comings." She hissed back at him. Reaper let out a low growl as he dissipated from the room. "You need to infiltrate the base in Gibraltar and finish the job. If I know Angela, it won't take her long to figure out how he works." She said to Sombra.

"If he can live through a buckshot, what can I exactly do to him?" Sombra asked.

Moira reached into her desk and pulled out a small vile containing a black thick liquid. "Inject him with this, it will make his DNA corrupt and unstable and he won't be able to maintain his body." She handed it to her and took a hold of her arm first. "He appears to be mutating as time goes on, the longer he lives, the more difficult he will be to kill."

Sombra nodded and left the lab with the vile in her pocket. Moira turned her attention back to her test tube that had her project inside.

"You will be my legacy, my greatest creation yet." She said lowering her eye level to the tube. "Do not fail me."


	8. The Man Behind The Mask

The sun started peering through the barred window waking Starkiller out of a sound slumber. Though he never slept for much at a time, he did feel more rested than ever before. He sat up in the bed noticing Lena slumped over the desk with her head resting on her folded arms. She was clearly in a deep slumber. She seemed so peaceful at this time, which mesmerized him. Since their first encounter in King's Row, he thought there was something..odd about her. He wasn't exactly sure what it was. Perhaps the passion she had in her, maybe the fact that she asked questions before shooting? It was completely against what he was trained to do in Talon. He looked down at his hands, his eyes tracing up his arm seeing his tattoo on his arm. He touched it tracing the insignia. "S-13". He was getting starting to get lost in his daydream about who he really was. Though the question never popped into his head until he was brought here.

It had been a few days since he was brought back from London. He still wasn't too sure what to make of this Overwatch organization. Besides Lena and McCree, who were the only ones willing to stay with him in the detention facility, everyone here basically seemed to act the same as those in Talon. Being hooked up to machines, tied down for testing, locked up until further notice, for him it was hard to decipher between the two. Though Angela was a tad more gentle when it came to the tests, he still saw her as not that different from the red haired Talon scientist. She was quiet when doing her tests like Moira was, though she did seem to be cautious if she saw him in any discomfort which, compared to his time in Talon, wasn't all too often.

The door suddenly opened as Angela came walking in with Winston and Jack at either side of her. "I guess she was here all night again?" She asked looking over at Lena who was still sound asleep.

Starkiller responded by a quick shrug of the shoulders. He always tried to distance himself from them since his outburst when he first woke up in Gibraltar. At least if Lena and McCree weren't around, or awake. Jack opened up the cell door motioning him with a twitch of his head for him to exit the cell. He was slow to get up but finally managed to exit standing in front of the other two.

"How are you feeling today?" Winston asked adjusting his glasses.

"Same as always." He responded. Angela sighed a little annoyingly, this was the same response he had given every day. She looked down at her charts before slamming the notepad on the desk Lena was sleeping on startling her awake.

"We can't help you unless you work with us." She said in a stern tone.

"You'll forgive me if I'm slow to abide by your orders, the last time I followed a doctor's orders," he motioned to his scars. "I became this."

"We understand your hesitation to be cooperative, but your not exactly in a position to barter in any way." Winston said.

"Not to mention the fact that we still don't know if you still have ties with Talon." Jack said circling around him.

Starkiller let out an audible sigh, "Very well. What do you want?" He asked Angela.

"We just need a blood sample, then we won't bother you. You must still be exhausted." Angela responded. Starkiller nodded and stuck out his arm for the Angela to proceed with her sampling. She had Starkiller sit down as she took his arm and laid it on the desk. "This will only take about ten minutes or so."

She stuck the needle in his arm finding a vein and started to drain the blood in the vile slowly. Starkiller sat there with a blank expression on his face before he looked at Winston who was looking at schematics of some kind. "Those blueprints, is that whats inside of me?" Winston looked back at him as he nodded in agreement.

"We are getting closer to understanding how you, tick for lack of a better term." He said. "These are from the results of the body scans." He lowered himself and showed him the schematic. "See these are engineered to clamp to vital parts of the body, mainly the spine to connect to the nervous system. this is likely why you can better control your, ahem, powers when you react more than think about what you do." Winston said pointing to different parts of the device. "Though the more we study these devices throughout your body, the more we see that they are integrated with your body in such a way that removing them will be difficult without severe repercussions."

"You mean it will kill me."

"To put it bluntly, I'm afraid so."

Starkiller looked at Angela who was still concentrating on taking his blood. "So then what is this for?"

Angela looked up briefly before concentrating back on her task at hand. "This is to hopefully discover who you are. Or who you were. The blood type will hopefully be on record and we can find out where you are from."

The response surprised Starkiller slightly. Sure they tried to find out who he was before, but he thought they just wanted a guinea pig to run more experiments on. At least that was the impression he got from being locked in their prison. "Thank you." The response made Angela pause for a moment before finishing up her work.

"Ok, we are all done here." She said packing up her equipment and placing the vile in her coat pocket. They all started to go back to the elevator doors when Lena finally piped up from still trying to wake up. "Mind if I show him around?"

"You want to what?" Jack questioned turning around with an astonished expression on his face.

"I'll keep an eye on him, and I think it might be better than having him cooped up down here all the time." She said leaning forward on the chair trying to stretch.

"We don't coddle prisoners." Jack said. The statement drew some looks from Lena and Angela. Starkiller almost scoffed slightly returning back to his cell.

"We never did say he was our prisoner." Angela said. Starkiller paused and turned to look at Angela after that response. "I mean yes we have him here for the time being, but we never did say we were holding him captive."

"Just because he said he has no intent on leaving doesn't mean he's not a prisoner."

"It might not be such a bad idea." Winston said.

"You can't be serious." Jack responded throwing his hands up in the air. "Fine. But you make so much as a wrong move, so much as a wrong breath, you will be dead before you even get to question what happened."

Starkiller simply nodded in agreement. Jack grunted in displeasure and the other two followed him into the elevator.

"At least you don't have to stay down here all the time now." Lena said getting up from the chair. Starkiller just watched her move around the area before she noticed his gaze on her. A grin started cracking across her face, "What?"

"There's not another person in the world like you is there?" He said.

"One of a kind, love."

"You do know no one here wants me around."

"That's not entirely true." She said with her voice trailing off knowing he didn't believe her.

"Besides you and the cowboy, no one wants me here."

"Angela wants to help you, Winston has just a natural curiosity for things he doesn't quite understand. So there's two more." She added.

"And what about the other 30 or so people here. I heard what they said when the cowboy was taking me down here. They all want me dead, gone, or somewhere not here."

Lena motioned him to follow her. "Look give them time, I know you were in a no win situation. But they only see what happened from here, and most of them have a hard time learning perspective."

"Their concern isn't unwarranted though."

"Yea I guess."

The two made their way into the elevator.

"You don't have to do.."

"I swear if you say that one more time I'm gonna slug you right in your mouth." She said jokingly putting her fists up in a fighting stance. "People around here know what Talon is capable of, some of us have even dealt with them first hand, give us a chance we might surprise you."

"I feel as though it is me who needs to be given a chance." He said looking at the floor numbers change.

"Well I already know where our first stop is going to be." Lena said as the elevator doors opened. He looked at her waiting for an answer. "The showers, you reek." She snickered a little covering her nose exaggerating a bit. He looked down at himself seeing the white shirt he was in was fading to a dirty white. He hadn't changed out of his clothes since being brought here.

"Fair enough. I don't have anything else to wear though." He said pointing at his attire.

"I can wash them quick while you take a shower. We can go back to my room cmon." She tugged on his arm dragging him along. As soon as they would pass anyone in the hall, Starkiller felt all eyes pierce him, at times making him feel slightly uncomfortable. The events he had to endure at Talon were some of the most gruesome some would say, but this feeling he was getting from the judgement in every one's eyes following him was another kind of discomfort. Walking through the hallways trying to dodge everyone's gaze was becoming increasingly difficult. The two turned a corner walking past Fareeha who proceeded to throw a shoulder into Starkiller as she walked by, staggering him back a little.

She turned her head as she continued walking. "Freak. You don't belong here." Starkiller stood there with his back against the wall as he looked down at his arms examining his scars.

"Don't mind her, shes a little rough around the edges, you know? Always trying to be the tough one." Lena said tugging on him to continue their path.

"I don't think that was an act of toughness, almost felt like a threat."

"Yea she does that from time to time." She said opening her room up. "She was military so she's very by the rule books and all, viewing stuff very black and white she does."

Starkiller followed her inside as Lena closed the door behind them. "Isn't everyone here military in some form though?"

Lena went into the bedroom as she hollered back at him still standing by the door. "Well not necessarily. The big guy you saw earlier is a scientist, Angela's a doctor."

"So two people here have no military affiliation." He said starting to examine her apartment looking quarters.

"Kinda difficult not to have military people here with the work we do, you know?"

"I suppose."

"Well bathroom is just over there, you can wash up while I take care of your clothing situation." She said coming out of the bedroom with a towel in her hand. Starkiller took his shirt off and handed it to her as he entered the bathroom. As he walked away, Lena saw the scars on his back that varied in size and depth it appeared. The most apparent one being one that went down the length of his back trailing where is spine was. Hearing about what Talon did was one thing, but actually seeing the aftermath was another. Starkiller closed the door behind him and entered the shower turning on the water and let the refreshing water clense his body. He stood there letting the refreshingly hot water bounce and run down his back closing his eyes and letting his body relax. The soothing feeling of the hot water running down his body was foreign to him. He felt like he could melt away in the sensation.

Lena threw the shirt away and started to dig through some old drawers looking for other clothes for him to wear. But the only thing she had that wouldn't look ridiculous on him was some old standard clothing Overwatch gave out to everyone that was a one size fits all. She picked up the shirt and shrugged her shoulders. "Guess this'll have to do." A knock on the door caught her ear as she opened it to see Ana standing there with something in her hand.

"Captain Amari, what can I do for you?"

She put her finger over her mouth signaling her to keep quiet. "Take this, its a tranquilizer dart gun." She handed her the small weapon that could easily fit into any pocket. "The sedative in there is strong enough to put down an elephant in seconds."

"I don't think I'll need this." Lena replied chuckling

"I'm serious. Angela has informed us his genetic mutation has progressed at an exponentially high rate, I'm not so sure bullets will stop him should he try anything. There is an alarming similarity in his powers to that of Reaper. The only thing we can do is temporarily sedate him at best." She placed the dart gun in her hand. "I'm only looking out for your safety, there's no telling what hes capable of."

Lena closed her hand around the gun looking back to Ana. "What do you think of him?" Ana seemed unfazed by the question already having her formal response prepared.

"Jack has granted him permission to go about the base under supervision, obviously he feels he is still a threat in some way."

"I asked what do you think?"

Ana let out a sigh. "I know you struggle to see the danger of people or situations, but he's from Talon. Whether he knows it or not, he could be indirectly putting us all in danger just by being here." Lena folded her arms waiting for her to finish. "But he hasn't shown any sign of aggression. I still want you to be prepared for the worst."

"You always are captain." Lena joked back. She closed the door and still heard the shower running and placed the dart gun in her pocket, not really feeling too good about having it on her person, but better safe than sorry. She knocked on the door after a little while to check up on him. "You doing ok in there?"

Just then she heard the shower stop and some shuffling about in there. The door opened with Starkiller having the towel wrapped around his waist, showing off his upper body to Lena. She stopped herself from staring too much. "Um this was all I could find for you." She said clearing her throat and handing him the shirt. "These shorts are too big for me so you can make do with these." Starkiller examined the clothing before putting them on. The shorts were not as bad of a fit as he thought, the shirt was a bit snug though. They hugged his body to the point where his muscles were protruding through showing off his toned body. it was white and had a small Overwatch logo on the front top of the shirt and on the back.

"You don't think people will take me wearing this the wrong way do you?" He asked looking at the shirt on his person.

"I think it suits you." She said biting her lip a little scanning his body a little more in the outfit. She caught herself again before he noticed though. "Cmon I could go for a good cup of tea." The two exited her room walking to the the mess hall. When they entered, Lena waved to the usual bunch she hung out with. Hana Song, and Lucio dos Santos. "Hey guys!"

"What's shaking Lena?" Lucio asked still bobbing his head to the music he was playing.

"Sit here, I'll go get us some tea." Lena said to Starkiller. He sat down as the other three stared at him.

"Whats up dude?" Lucio finally asked breaking the silence. Starkiller wasn't exactly too sure how to respond but shrug his shoulders slightly.

"Going ok I guess." He said back.

"So is it true?" Hana asked. Starkiller raised an eyebrow not sure what she was talking about. "You took on Reaper and Doomfist?"

Starkiller looked down at the table before nodding his head slightly. "Yea, I lost though."

"Well that can't be true my man." Lucio said

"Why's that?"

"You're still breathing." Lucio said

"From what I saw you were in a good position before I butted in." Lena said sitting down handing him a mug full of tea.

"Well that doesn't seem out of the norm. Lena's always messing up the groove." Lucio joked around.

Starkiller smirked a little taking a sip of his tea.

"Oh you're just jealous you still can't beat me in a race." Lena said back.

While Lena and Lucio were enjoying their friendly banter, Hana was taking her time studying Starkiller as he sat in silence. When he raised his arm to take another sip of his drink, she noticed the tattoo on his arm. She didn't say anything but Starkiller caught her eyes studying it.

"It says S-13." He said showing her for a moment.

"What does it mean?" She asked.

"Wish I could tell you. Don't really remember much of anything besides being stuck in Talon."

"I can tell you what it means. It's a brand to show everyone he doesn't belong here." Everyone turned looking at Fareeha standing at the end of the table. Starkiller chose to ignore the comment but Lena decided to chime in.

"Oh shove off. Can't you see he doesn't belong with them anymore?"

"Only time will tell. Just know I have my cross hairs on your head." She said before turning to leave.

"You wouldn't get the chance to shoot." Starkiller muttered under his breath taking another sip of his drink. She paused and turned around piercing him with her look

"Is that a threat?" She asked raising her tone.

"It's a matter of fact."

This only provoked her more as she drew her pistol and pointed it at him. "Lets test your theory." She fired at his head but as soon as she did, he vanished and appeared behind her, and had one of Lena's pulse pistols pointed at the back of her head.

"Stop!" Lena got up and yelled drawing the dart gun she had received from Ana earlier ever so slightly out of her pocket. Everyone had stopped to see all the commotion after the shot was fired. Starkiller noticed the new weapon in Lena's hands before closing his eyes and taking a deep breath.

He flung Lena's pistol on the table before returning to his seat. "I don't wish to hurt anyone here. But let me be clear, I won't hesitate to protect myself should I need to. As you can see I'm more than capable of doing just that." Fareeha and everyone else were stunned and shocked at how quick he could maneuver. He took one last sip of the tea before getting up. "Thanks for the drink, but I think it would be best if I return to my _room_." He put a sarcastic spin on the last sentence. As he walked towards the elevator to return to what was pretty much his domain.

"You don't have to stay there you know. Its not right to stay isolated from everyone like that." Lena said following him towards the elevator. She had a look that showed distinct disappointment, but also a bit of fear at the same time.

"It's clear not many, if anyone, trust me. I shouldn't be walking around like I belong here. The looks alone show I'm not welcomed here." He said summoning the elevator. "Or like I'm a rabid animal that will be put down should I act out." He added looking at the gun in her pocket. Lena noticed that he was eyeing the dart gun.

"Its not what you think." She pleaded getting into the elevator with him. "It was just to diffuse any situations that may get out of hand."

"You guys don't think I can control myself, is that it?" He asked. His frustration was starting to come to a boiling point. "I've been clear with my intentions since being dragged here to begin with. Obviously your disregard for that being the truth shows where you stand with me."

"Don't lump me in with everyone here." Lena barked back at him. The elevator doors opened as the two stepped out in the detention area. "How can you lump me in with them when I'm the one who brought you here in the first place. I'm trusting you even after you tried to kill me, and killed three others!" She yelled at him.

"I never tried to kill you." He said turning around walking towards her as he backed her into a corner. He snatched the dart gun out of her pocket. "I'm suppose to believe you after you carry around stuff like this for me only?" He threw it to the other side of the room away from them. "Is this what you guys think of me? Some time bomb ticking waiting to snap and kill you? Huh?" His aura was starting to glow the louder he got. "Answer me!" His eyes glowed purple as the aura engulfed him. When he saw the fear on Lena's face from his snap, that's when he brought himself out of it. He stepped back away from her leaning against the cell door and crumpling to the ground with his back still against the door. Lena slowly crept closer to him.

"I'm.. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you." He mumbled out.

Lena walked up and sat next to him on the ground. "You aren't completely wrong. But you aren't right either." She put a hand on his leg trying to comfort him. "Do you trust me?" Starkiller looked at her but hesitated to answer for a moment before she asked again. "Life on the line, gun to your head, do you trust me?"

"Yes." He answered. "What about you, do you trust me?"

Lena nodded her head slowly. "You've already saved my life. Don't ever think I'll forget that. I owe you." She offered a little smile to try and comfort him.

"I don't feel like I have place in this world." He said. "Talon injected me into this world with no other purpose than to be their weapon, now that I'm damaged goods to them, what do I do now? Where do I go now?"

"Your place is with us, and your purpose is to help make this world a better place. Ultimately the choice is up to you. Make the most of it love." She responded.

Lena started to move closer to him. Her eyes were begging him to return the favor. Timid at first, he started to move his face closer to hers. Only inches apart from hers, he was too afraid to go any further.

"This is wrong." He said starting to pull away. He felt her hand grab the back of his neck to stop him from pulling away.

"Ever since my accident, I've always felt out of place as well." She looked down placing her hand in his. "I'm desperate for another's touch. I need help feeling grounded in this place." She looked back up at him. "Help me feel like I belong." She whispered. She brought him closer to her and just before she was about to embrace his lips, a voice interrupted them.

"Awe how sweet." The two of them pulled away from each other and rose to their feet looking to see who was there. But they couldn't see anyone.

"That voice." Starkiller muttered under his breath. "I know that voice."

"Bingo amigo." Sombra said as she uncloaked herself. Before either Starkiller or Lena could react she started typing on her pad and instantly hacked Lena's chronal accelerator crumpling her to the ground gasping for air as she was on the brink of fading away. "Don't move. Any sudden moves and your little girlfriend here will be gone." She held her hand over what looked like a killswitch button on her pad.

Lena was still gasping for air clearly in a great deal of pain from her accelerator malfunctioning. Starkiller put his hands up to show his surrender. "What do you want?"

"I'm just here to finish a job. Tie up some loose ends, know what I mean?" She said so sadistically walking around the room. She walked over to Lena and reached down to pick her up.

"Don't touch her!" He yelled out. Sombra cocked her head to the side and had a devious grin over her face. "I'm the one you want, just leave her out of this." She didn't say anything back but started walking around the room circling Starkiller. She enjoyed playing with her prey. "How did you even know I was here? As far as Talon knows I'm dead."

Sombra started to chuckle and shake her head. "You have no idea how deep the roots of Talon go in this world do you?" She came face to face with him. "Talon has more control in this world than anyone realizes. How do you think they've stayed hidden all this time from Overwatch?"

"I wouldn't know, Talon didn't exactly let me in on their day to day activities."

"I suppose the best Moira could have done with you could only go so far. After all you were just the latest in a long line of failed experiments." As Sombra rambled on Starkiller saw Lena starting to crawl slowly towards the dart gun that was on the other side of the room.

"What do you mean long list?" He was trying to keep Sombra's attention just a little longer.

"Well _13_ , you weren't the first we had to put down."

"There were more like me? I thought I was the last survivor?"

"Of that batch, you were."

Starkiller narrowed his eyes looking at Sombra. "Batch?"

Sombra chuckled again taking the vile she had received from Moira out of her pocket and loading up a needle to inject Starkiller. "Yup. She really made a breakthrough with your group. Well I guess its back to scrap pile with you."

Just as she was about to inject Starkiller with the liquid, the sound of the dart gun firing caught Sombra by surprise as the needle hit the back of her neck. She jumped at the pain followed immediately by staggering around and collapsing to the ground. Starkiller looked to see Lena pointing the gun before she dropped back to the ground as her accelerator was still malfunctioning. He ran over and helped her up and sat her in one of the beds in the cells.

"Ah..get..Winston." She spoke through the pain she was suffering. He nodded and hit the comm link on the wall.

"Winston get down here. Lena needs your help. And bring Morrison. He's going to want to see this."

"I'll be there as soon as possible." He responded.

Starkiller went back and sat with Lena as she was still writhing in pain from the voltage going through her body. While he tried his best to comfort her, he looked at Sombra trying to figure out what she was talking about earlier.


	9. True Colors

**Warning:** This chapter gets pretty raunchy with torture and gore. Just a heads up.

* * *

The two of them were at a standstill. Morrison was waiting for Sombra to answer his questions as they sat in the interrogation room. Sombra had her hands cuffed to the table unable to stray far from the chair she sat in. Though this was a setback for her, she seemed like she was still in control of the situation.

"I'll ask one more time, Who are you taking orders from? Where is the council located? We can ensure your safety should you choose to cooperate."

Sombra cracked a smile across her face. "You really are wasting your time here commander."

Morrison started holding the bridge of his knows out of frustration. "You're not doing yourself any favors stalling."

Sombra snickered a little in her cuffs. "Commander you're quite amusing you know that?" Morrison didn't change his expression of frustration listening to her. "I'm just passing the time here until I get bored, your little bandit of heroes here is really something."

"You can't talk yourself out of this one."

"Having the upper hand is really a matter of perspective isn't it?" Sombra said leaning back in her chair. "You think you have the power in this struggle don't you?" Morrison remained silent. "For example, you think you hold the power because I'm being held here. But I have the power of knowledge, commander. In the end, isn't that what we are all after?"

"You don't know as much as you think."

"I know a lot more about yourself commander." Morrison clenched his fists out of frustration. "Like about your little spat with Gabriel, tsk tsk tsk. Shame how that turned out really. But what would everyone here think about their fearless leader, if they knew about his hand in how Talon came about the data they stole." Sombra looked at Morrison with a devious smirk on her face. "Or how the geneticist behind all this mess, was founded and funded by you."

Morrison sat there silent not wanting to show his hand in this chess match. He got up to exit the room as Sombra taunted him one last time. "Can't wait for our next talk commander."

McCree, Ana, and Starkiller were observing through the glass window seeing how manipulative she was during Morrison's interrogation.

"Oh she's good." McCree said.

"We're wasting time. She knows something but she just has too much leverage here." Morrison said.

"She can't possibly be this well informed. Could she?" Ana asked looking at Starkiller hoping he would have some insight. Starkiller kept staring at Sombra through the window before shaking his head.

"I only worked with her briefly but from the way everyone talked about her at Talon, it's likely she is."

"Would explain how she found out you were here." McCree added.

"No. No it wouldn't." All three looked at Morrison. "We only informed the U.N. of your presence here and the circumstances."

"Then she is telling the truth about Talon having deep rooted connections." Starkiller added.

"We'll get her to talk." Ana said. "We should contact the U.N. and warn them of a traitor among them."

"Or maybe we don't." McCree added. "This may be the first time we know something they don't."

"That's if our assumption is correct." Ana replied back.

"We can't speculate now or risk showing our hand in this matter." Morrison added. "Get in contact with the U.N. and ask if there have been any details circulating regarding Talon." He said to Ana. As they were discussing matters, Starkiller came up to McCree and tapped his shoulder to get his attention.

"If you don't mind, could you escort me to the medical bay. I'd like to see how Lena is doing." McCree raised a brow to the question but was still in his typical smart ass mood.

"You want me to hold your hand too?"

"I was not permitted to roam about this facility unsupervised. Lena was the one tasked for looking after me, just don't want to cause trouble."

McCree nodded and let him out of the detention area to the elevator. The two got inside choosing to stay silent before the doors closed. McCree was the one who broke the silence after the elevator started to climb the floors. "Heard things got pretty heated in the mess hall." Starkiller seemed like he didn't acknowledge him staying silent. "That Fareeha girl can be kind of a tough cookie. Mom being in Overwatch and all. She's just looking out for the squad, tough to break those habits."

"I don't care."

McCree looked over to him with a confused look.

"She threatened me and shot at me with the intent to kill, and everyone let her. It wasn't until she was at the mercy of me until everyone decided to jump in." Starkiller looked back at McCree with an eerie glare. "Typically those who shoot at me don't get the chance to make amends."

"I hear ya, but you got to take it easy here partner. The whole place is on edge and don't know what your capable of." The doors opened with McCree leading Starkiller out down the hall. "I ain't gonna pretend everyone here is a saint, but some would see you as unforgivable. Fareeha being one of them. Gonna be a little while before she warms up to you."

"I'm not here to make any friends." He replied back in cold low tone.

"Doesn't hurt to make a couple. This journey has a long windy road, company makes the road a little more bearable." McCree said as he looked back and grinned. He opened the door and let Starkiller in seeing Lena in bed with Angela tending to her wounds. Winston was busy making repairs on her accelerator on a work bench on the far side of the room. McCree closed the door electing not to stay outside. Angela looked to see Starkiller approaching the bed but returned her focus to Lena.

"How is she?" Starkiller asked standing on the other side of the bed.

"Other than this little burn on her chest from her device overheating, she's in fairly good condition."

"I don't feel like I'm in good condition." Lena said in a weak voice.

"Of course with that much voltage coursing through you, anyone else would have severe nerve damage. You're lucky you just ended up with some sore muscles."

"I don't feel very lucky right now."

Angela smirked at the remark and went back to finish her paper work and medical reports. A little table of surgical instruments was within reach of Starkiller that caught the corner of his eye.

"Guess Lucio was right, you do have a knack for butting in all the time." He said.

"Haha oh ow ow. Don't make me laugh it still hurts." Lena said trying to suppress her smile.

Starkiller reached out and gently held her hand. "You saved my life again."

Lena closed and wrapped her fingers around his hand. "two to one, my lead." She said out in a weak voice again. Starkiller walked by the table, snatching a couple of scalpels off the table on his way over to Winston who had sparks illuminating light from his face as he continued on the repairs.

"Is the damage too severe?" He asked. Winston shook his head as he continued to work.

"She managed to somehow overload the circuits causing it to short. Hence why Lena was so terribly shocked from it. The device was running itself at an incredibly high rate which caused it to overheat as well."

"Explains the burn then." Starkiller said looking back at her.

"I know this device like the back of my hand. Took me about 6 months to perfect this thing. The chronal chamber that contained Lena while she was lost in time was an easy fix, but downsizing the same concept into a portable device that wouldn't malfunction was a harder task." Winston said as he sealed the device back up. The blue light started lighting bright followed by a light hum signaling it was functional again. "See just like that, good as new." The two of them went back to Lena's bed as Winston placed the device down on the table beside her bed. Starkiller saw how Lena's heavy eyes were struggling to stay open, the pain meds were finally start to take their full effect making her drowsy.

Angela placed a hand on Starkiller's shoulder to get his attention. "She needs to rest now and let her burn heal. I'm afraid you will have to leave for now." Starkiller nodded.

"Could you let me know when she wakes up? If it's not too much trouble."

Angela nodded. "Of course. She's really taking a liking to you. Couldn't stop talking about you in here." The comment caused Starkiller to grin ever so slightly.

"She's something." Starkiller replied. Angela opened the door and let Starkiller exit before closing the door behind him. McCree was leaning against the wall waiting for Starkiller. He pushed himself off the wall.

"Guess we outta be getting back to the bunch." McCree said. Starkiller followed his steps down the hall. McCree noticed Starkiller looking down smirking slightly. "What's got you all giddy all of a sudden?"

Starkiller looked up erasing his smile. "What are you talking about."

McCree didn't say anything back but just grinned knowing exactly why he was in a lighter mood than usual. The two exited the elevator and found Morrison yelling at Sombra in the interrogation room. Though through all the yelling, Sombra was completely ignoring the banter, fiddling with her cuffs.

"Well we obviously made some headway." McCree said sitting down. Morrison exited the room face still flush from all the yelling breathing heavy. He looked at the three and just started shaking his head.

"That woman is so fucking stubborn." He slammed his fist down in frustration. "We can't keep wasting time like this."

"Let me talk to her." Starkiller suggested.

"Not on your life!" Morrison yelled back. "What's stopping you from breaking her loose?"

"I want answers just as much as you do. You aren't the only horse in this race." Starkiller said back.

"Hold on that might actually not be such a bad plan." McCree said rubbing his beard. "Its worth a shot at the very least."

Morrison let out of sigh of frustration before finally agreeing. "Fine. But know I got my eye on you, no funny business. Clear?"

Starkiller slowly nodded his head. As he entered the room, Sombra raised her eyebrow out of confusion. "Interesting play here. Didn't expect to see you here." She leaned back in her chair and raised her head, "So why are you here?"

"Funny, I've been asking myself the same question lately. And your going to tell me." Sombra looked confused from the remark. "What is Talon doing to people like me?"

Sombra broke out laughing. "You've got a lot to learn. To get answers like this requires leverage, some kind of reason to give you something. An exchange of some kind. You've got nothing. The one with the information has the power, and that would be me."

"You don't know me." Starkiller got up from his seat and paced around Sombra, setting a very ominous atmosphere in the room.

"I know everything there is to know about you." Sombra snickered again in her seat. "I know your powers, strengths, your weaknesses. Everything. There. Is. To Know."

Starkiller felt the rage start to reach its boiling point. His counterpart was observing his reaction and knew she was in control of the situation. She still had the smirk on her face as she spoke. "Amigo you aren't built for situations like this. You're in my arena now, you don't stand a chance."

In a fit of rage Starkiller got up out of his chair and grabbed a hold of Sombra's cuffs and ripped them from their locks and slammed Sombra against the wall. Sombra grunted from the impact before smiling at Starkiller yet again. "Come on papi, I like it rough." Only fueling his rage even more he threw her into the table, bouncing off the top and rolling onto the ground.

"You have no way out of this, you might as well cooperate with us." He said trying to calm himself down.

Sombra struggled to get up as her hands were still chained together but she was laughing on the way up. "Us? you aren't with them. They don't want you. Who would?" She looked at him in his eyes, "a defective experiment is all they see."

Starkiller teleported behind her and forced her down in her seat and slammed his head on the table dazing her slightly before he forced her hands on the table in front of her. "Do you know what Talon did to me?" He said in a low voice in her ear

Sombra shook her head trying to shake off the pain and shrugged slightly. "I read Moira's files."

"Read her files." He repeated. "Reading on such events can only get you so far. Hearing about someone being in a car accident doesn't give you a full picture of what happened."

"Sorry I wasn't there for Moira's accident." She mocked back at him.

"You don't know what I'm capable of."

"I know you aren't very good at this little dance we're having right now. You don't have what it takes to.." As she was rambling on, he pierced one of her hands with one of the scalpels he had in his pocket, nailing her hand to the table.

"AHHHHHH!" Sombra yelled out in pain. She hunched over in pain grunting and panting trying so hard to tolerate the sudden burst of pain.

Starkiller yelled at her drowning out her cries in agony. "Now that I have your attention I'll ask one more time, what is Talon doing with people like me? What are they planning?

"Get him out of there now!" Morrison yelled. McCree put a hand on his shoulder grabbing his attention.

"Hold on. Let's just see how this plays out."

Sombra was grunting and whimpering from the pain. blood was spilling out of her hand but she couldn't do anything about it. She didn't answer him. Starkiller slapped her face a couple of times trying to get her attention. "Answer me!" She looked up at him and spat in his face

"Vete al infierno!" She barked back at him. He took the blade out of her hand and kicked her out of her chair causing her to slam onto her back. He picked her up by her collar and pinned her against the wall.

"Tell me!" She stayed silent, electing not to respond at all other than the panting. Starkiller was becoming increasingly impatient and punched her gut as hard as he could. She buckled over in pain gasping for air. He was still waiting for an answer. He leaned down coming to the same level as her ear. "You would have been one of the first to go." He got back up and kicked her down and continued kicking her in the ribs. Sombra tried to suppress her reaction to the pain, but was fighting a losing battle. She tried to curl up to defend herself but Starkiller dropped down and forced her to her back as he continued to pummel her until she struggled to breathe. He picked her up and dropped her back into her chair. She was in a daze, struggling to stay awake and sit in her chair. "Reaper and Moira would have loved toying with you. That cocky attitude you have there," he said sitting on the table hunching over in her face, "they would have enjoyed every second wiping that grin off your face until you begged for your life. Just like they did with me."

Sombra was panting and grunting from the onslaught she had endured. "What are they planning?" He asked calmly this time. The way his tone was shifting from violent to calm was unnerving. It was making her nervous. "I..ah." She tried to say something but was too out of sorts to think clearly. Starkiller was twirling the blade around waiting for her answer, before he became too impatiend and jabbed it into her leg. "I don't have all day! Tell me!" He yelled at her as Sombra only yelped out in pain grimacing as the intense pulsating pain throbbed in her leg. She was panting even harder now still not answering him. He stood up and pulled the blade out of her leg.

"Maybe we should just try to emulate Moira's experiment." Sombra's eyes perked open wide as she heard what he had said. "I think I remember how it went, though I may be a little fuzzy on some of the details." He threw her forward on the table and tore the back of her shirt exposing her caramel colored skin. "At least this way we can figure out together what she was trying to accomplish, you know since you don't know." He jabbed the blade into her back and slowly started to slowly carve down her back. Sombra screamed and kicked trying to stop him, but she wasn't nearly strong enough.

Tears were starting to flow out of her eyes as she was fearing for her life. "Please stop!" She cried out causing Starkiller to stop for a moment before he leaned down and whispered in her ear.

"Music to their ears." He gripped the blade and continued to carve further down her back, her cries becoming blood curdling.

"That's it I'm stopping this now!" Morrison yelled as he sprinted towards the door. As soon as Starkiller heard the doorlock becoming unhinged, he teleported over to the door and used his energy to meld the hinge so that the door wouldn't open.

He turned back to Sombra with a fear inducing look in his eyes along with the purple hue. "Wouldn't want our experiment to get interrupted now would we?" He mounted her back and forced her head down on the table. She was in full panic mode now

"Help me please! He's going to kill me!"

Morrison was slamming his body into the door unsuccessful in opening the door. "It's jammed!"

McCree pulled out his revolver before firing a few rounds into the window shattering it and jumped through. Sombra couldn't see what was going on she continued to plead for her life. "Please! Stop!"

"You know how to make it stop. Tell me where facility is. Now!" The situation was becoming intense between Sombra's cries in pain and Starkiller yelling at her. "It's a lot easier to just talk about what Talon did isn't it?" Starkiller yelled drowning out her pleading. "I wanted them to stop, I begged them to stop, but guess what?They loved it when I begged." McCree was still holding his revolver but couldn't help but feel bad for the kid. "I just had to shut up and take it and pray that someday it would end, whether by me dying or somehow getting out."

"That's enough kid." McCree said but Starkiller just ignored him. Morrison jumped through and drew his pistol aiming at his head.

"Stop it now or I will shoot!" Morrison yelled

"Tell me!" Starkiller yelled one last time as he started to twist the blade in her back. The situation was become intense between Starkiller and Morrison shouting, with McCree trying to interject his voice as well. Chaos was insuing before Sombra silenced them all with her final yell. "Brazil!" Everyone was silenced on queue with the only sound filling the room was her taking short breathes. "Northwest of Manaus. An old abandoned research lab. In the Amazon. There lies your answers." She couldn't spit it out fast enough. Starkiller took the blade out of her back and dropped it on the table right next to her face. He gently pulled her back up and whispered in her ear.

"I endured that for years. The reports don't mention what surviving that kind of torture does to a man." He paused for a moment to try and get his point across. "Don't ever say I don't have what it takes."

Sombra was whimpering and crying slightly from the traumatic experience that just ensued. Starkiller walked past both McCree and Morrison exchanging a nasty glare with Morrison on his way out towards the elevator and left in a hurry.

"We shouldn't have let him go that far." Morrison said as he put his gun away and helped Sombra up

"Whether we should have or not, we got the answers we wanted." McCree said. He helped pick her up and carried her to the elevator to take her to Angela's office to patch her up. "He reminds me of.."

"Don't say it." Morrison interrupted. "We all know how he ended up."

Starkiller led the way bursting through the doors to the medical bay followed by Morrison and McCree carrying Sombra and placing her in one of the medical beds. The doors slamming open startled everyone inside. Lena popped up in her bed seeing Starkiller scurry away with blood covering his hands and cloths. She looked over and saw Sombra being tended to by Angela and a few other doctors. She got up out of her bed and walked over to the bathroom where Starkiller was. He was hunched over the sink with his blood stained hands gripping the white porcelain. He was breathing heavy and his legs and seemed to be trembling. She knocked on the door which seemed to startle him as he turned around. He crumpled to the ground looking at his hands.

"What happened?" She asked. She took a cloth and ran it through some hot water and sat down next to him wiping off some of the blood stains on his hands and face.

"I..I don't know." He replied. "I got carried away. She was just so smug and cocky. I wanted to put her in her place, give her a taste of what I went through." He felt her hand gently placed on his back. "I wanted her to suffer like I did." He let out a deep breath before looking back down. Lena remained silent not really knowing what to say, she just continued to help clean him up. "The scary part of it all was for a moment, I enjoyed being that in control. Commanding that kind of fear over someone." He was starring off into space as he talked. "I would have killed her if she didn't talk." Lena helped him to his feet still remaining silent and continued to help clean him off. Starkiller had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach feeling off about his interrogation. In the heat of the moment it seemed like he was satisfied with seeing a member of Talon suffer. But the more it sunk in, he felt like he had done something terribly wrong. He felt guilty. Looking up into the mirror, he saw one half of his face that still had blood splattered all over, and the other half, relatively clean, where Lena appeared just over his shoulder in the reflection. "This is what they created." He mumbled to himself, before wiping his face with a towel to clean up. As both him and Lena exited the bathroom, Jack and McCree were outside waiting for him to appear.

Morrison shoved him against the wall in a fit of anger. "We do not do that here!" He yelled at him. "We have morals here son, I will not hesitate to put you down should you pull anything like that again."

Starkiller's brow furrowed at the remark. It reminded him too much of how someone else use to describe him. He stomached his frustrations before nodding in compliance.

"What's gonna be the next move?" Jesse asked. "She said that place was abandoned but with her not checking in with Talon for this long, they'll likely buckle down quite a bit."

"We'll send a small team to gather what ever data we can get from the place." Morrison replied. "I'll sort out the details later, then we will come up with a plan." The two exited the medical bay as Starkiller stood by the wall trying to stay out of everyone's way. He was haunted by the whimpering and suffering Sombra was enduring as Angela finally sedated her and started stitching up her wounds. Starkiller observed from afar and looked down at his hands before closing them into fists.

 _This is who she created._


	10. Manners Maketh Man

He was sitting at his desk completing his normal paperwork, like any other typical day at the U.N. He suddenly felt a cold breeze sweep through his office. He went to go close the window before he was caught off guard and startled by the embodiment of death standing in his office.

"Oh." He staggered backwards placing a hand over his heart. "I wasn't expecting you here." He ran to his office door to lock the door, not wanting to be seen with him. Reaper slinked around the office picking up the little trinkets on his desk before putting them back down.

"Have you told anyone else about the captive Overwatch has?" The man was tilted his head to the side before realizing who he was talking about.

"Oh S-13. No I only notified HQ. Though likely the council has already notified the proper personnel to deal with the situation." The man replied.

"Good." Was all Reaper said back to him before he pulled out on of his hellfire shotguns and blasted the man through his chest. Before he could admire his work his comm link started to go off with Moira on the other end.

"Report." Was all she demanded.

"The loose end is taken care of. You'll be in the clear now. Assuming Sombra has taken care of her end." He said back.

"You didn't make it messy did you.?"

He paused before observing the massive wound his gun made in the man's chest with blood dripping off of his clothes and staining the floor. "They'll just think your assassin came back to kill him."

"The authorities are not the problem what will Talon think when they find out?" She yelled back in a fit of anger.

"Overwatch discovered his connection and eliminated him." He said back earning no further response from the scientist.

"Come back to base, I've yet to hear back from Sombra which is troubling."

"You should have sent me to kill the mutt, I'm more capable than she is."

"And yet your failure to take care of him the first time is why you are taking care of a defenseless ambassador." She barked back through the earpiece before cutting the channel off. Reaper growled at her remark before turning into his mist and escaping through the window and out of sight.

* * *

"We need to send a team to that facility sooner rather than later." Ana said to Morrison. "The data we acquire from there could be vital to discovering what Talon is planning to do or what they have done."

"We do need to be cautious, we don't know what we will be walking into there." Morrison replied.

"She said it was abandoned right? Hard to believe we will find anything of value there." McCree added as he sat in the corner of the room.

"While yes she did say it was abandoned, Winston has made a device for us to extract memory of everything keeping data there." Morrison said. "That includes camera footage there too." He went over to his desk and sat down. "However this does not mean we throw caution to the wind. Captain Amari, assemble a team to infiltrate and extract the data." Ana nodded and saluted Morrison quickly before exiting his office. Morrison started rubbing the bridge of his nose after the exchange.

"Problem there chief?" McCree asked liftling his hat slightly peering at him?

"Two high profile Talon members being kept here, and we'll be putting ourselves in a vulnerable position sending a team out to investigate this lab." He got up from his desk and motioned for McCree to follow him out of his office. "We're making a risky move, but hopefully it will pay off in the end."

"I think you ought to stop referring to the kid as Talon there chief. He's shown desire to go escape or hang us out to dry."

"Regardless of how he behaves here, he's got a target on his back through Talon's cross-hair's." Morrison added. "Talon doesn't just kill off their agents for no reason at all."

"Guess there's no denying that." McCree said. The two of them entered the medical lab where Angela was analyzing Starkiller's blood sample she took a couple of days ago. Though she seemed puzzled at her results. Morrison noticed her look as soon as he entered the room.

"What's the matter?" He asked her.

"This can't be right." She mumbled under her breath. "This is the third time I've ran his blood through the scanner, but the results are, not found."

"So he's not on record big deal." McCree replied.

"No I mean his blood type is, well, unique. It doesn't match any pattern that is on any medical record. And his DNA is structured differently too. It's almost as if it was customized for lack of a better term." She said getting up from her seat at her desk.

"Guess if O'Deorain was messing around with him that's not at all surprising." McCree stated but still noticing the puzzled look on Angela's face. "Isn't it."

"This is troubling to say the least, but it would explain why he survived her, _procedures_." She said turning off her computer. "Who knows what untapped abilities lie within him, what hes capable of."

"Then I guess it's a good thing he's on our side isn't it." McCree replied.

"For the time being, but that still doesn't rule him out as a threat." Morrison said.

"I don't know chief, might want to give the kid a chance, he hasn't let us down so far." McCree said exiting the room.

* * *

Lena was sitting with her usual group in the mess hall. Her wounds were healed for the most part and she was enjoying the company of Lucio ad Hana, when she saw Starkiller walk in and grab a cup of coffee. She waved him over to join them and he nodded and obliged.

"Nice to see they aren't confining you to a room anymore." Lucio remarked.

"Well, I wouldn't say that." He replied. Lucio and Hana looked confused at the remark, as he took a sip of his coffee. "Ever since the Sombra incident, they've turned kind of a blind eye to me, probably focusing more on her than me."

"I think they may be coming around to you love." Lena remarked nudging him slightly. He shrugged his shoulders not convinced that it was the actual reason why he was being allotted more freedoms around the facility. As the other three continued their conversation, Starkiller noticed Ana approaching the table with Fareeha and another member he had not met before.

"Captain Amari!" Lena said and gave her little salute, "What can I do for you love?"

"Are you well enough to go back in the field?" she asked. Lena nodded in excitement.

"Good, we are infiltrating some abandoned Talon lab in the Amazon rain forest. Suit up and meet us in the shuttle bay in 2 hours."

Lena gave another little salute. "Aye aye captain." The three were leaving the table before Starkiller scampered out of his seat trying to get Ana's attention.

"Excuse me captain." The three turned to him surprised by his approach. "If it's all the same to you, I'd like to accompany your team on this mission."

"Like we need any help from the likes of-" Fareeha was cut off by Ana holding up her hand to silence her daughter.

"Why do you want to join us?" She asked cocking her head to the side showing her curiosity in his motive.

"I'm just trying to prove my worth here, maybe this is a good start for me." Ana showed a small but brief smile.

"This isn't the place for you to start." She replied as Starkiller sunk his posture at her response. "That is not until you disclose you're real reason for wanting to come." Starkiller peered up at her with wide eyes taken off guard. She was a very observant person, almost has the ability to see right through you. Starkiller took a deep breathe and sighed deeply.

"This place that you are going to, it could have all the answers or at least point me in the right direction of who I am. And it's not that I don't trust Overwatch, I mean you guys saved my life so I'm forever in your debt. It's just that I'd feel more comfortable and at peace with myself if I were to see this place first hand."

Ana put a hand to her chin exaggerating her thinking of his answer. "The path of redemption starts with admission of the truth and accepting one's fate." The other man said. "Captain, I do believe this is a good place for him to start."

"I believe you are correct Genji." Ana replied. She looked at Starkiller with a small smirk on her face. "Lena can show you the armory to gear up. Welcome aboard." Starkiller bowed his head to gesture his thanks. Ana and Genji didn't seemed to mind his company but Fareeha gave him an intimidating glare before she followed the other two out of the mess hall. Starkiller returned to his seat with the other three agents, all of them staring at him waiting to hear what he had just talked about.

"So?" Lena asked waiting for a response.

"So..what?" He said as he took another sip of his coffee.

"What was all that about man?" Lucio asked.

"Oh yea I'm coming with you on this mission."

"That's awesome!" Lena threw her hands up in the air.

"Yea man, the captain is usually pretty picky when it comes to her strike teams, she must see something special in you." Lucio added on.

"I suppose."

"Well come on then we better get ready." Lena got up and dragged him out of his chair towards the armory. When they arrived, Starkiller was in awe of how massive their armory was. Anything you could think of they had it, rifles, pistols, shotguns, anything that could shoot a bullet they had. He looked to see Lena equipping her light armor and holster her pistols. The short dwarf looking man who was in charge of the armory walked up to Starkiller with his armor.

"Here ya go, we kept this to study the material and design Talon was using." Torbjorn said handing him his old armor. He nodded to him as he took his armor and started to equip it piece by piece. The familiarity of the armor was haunting him to a certain extent. Reminding him of the deeds Talon had him perform. He was all but suited up except for the helmet. Torbjorn walked up to him once again holding a sword in it's sheath.

"I noticed you are a fan of blades as oppose to guns. Got rid of the old stick Talon gave you and refined one of Genji's old blades. I know he won't mind you using it." Starkiller drew the sword, and flung it around seeing how it handled. It handled well, much better than his old sword. The blade was sleek and sharp looking as he took the sheath and attached it to his back and twirled the sword around and sheathed it in a smooth motion.

"Appreciate all the trouble you went through for me." Starkiller said as he saw himself in the mirror in his old armor.

"No trouble at all. Don't worry, most of us here know you have a good heart, despite what those bastards did to ya." The mechanic said as he went back to his tools to continue maintenance on some other pieces of equipment he had lying around.

Starkiller took a deep breath and placed the helmet over his head closing his eyes until the helmet was completely on. He opened his eyes and saw the menacing helmet staring back at him through the mirror. The pitch black visor hid his face from the outside, something he was fairly good at these days without the helmet. The door swung open with a loud bang as Fareeha stormed her way up to Starkiller and slammed him against the wall pinning him as she stared at him through his helmet.

"Let's get this clear, I don't like you. And if you even think of even looking in the wrong direction, I will end you before you even get the chance to pull your little disappearing act, get me?" She said in an intimidating low tone in his face. Starkiller didn't say anything back but just slowly nodded his head, not wanting to stir up any more trouble.

"Back off Fareeha! He hasn't done anything to you that you didn't provoke." Lena shot at her, but Fareeha paid her no mind. She said what she had to say and started to storm out towards the shuttle bay. Starkiller pushed himself off of the wall and adjusted his helmet making sure everything was in check. "Sorry about her, she's pretty hard headed about her opinions." Lena added. Starkiller just shrugged his shoulders.

"As long as she doesn't point a gun at me again, she can say whatever she wants." Lena and him made their final preparations before heading towards the hangar where the rest of the team was waiting for them. Ana gave them a nod before heading onto the shuttle followed by the others. Lena took the controls as the shuttle took off and took flight. As the shuttle reached its cruising altitude, Lena put the shuttle on autopilot and joined the others who were discussing their plan.

"We don't know exactly the layout of this place, but what we need to find is the main terminal of some kind." Ana said placing the device Winston had made on the table. "We'll need to find an access point to extract the data from the lab." She placed another device down on the table as well. "We'll split up into two teams to cover more ground, one device per team."

"Where do we even start? The facility is probably going to be massive." Lena asked.

"We'll have to just trust our judgement here." Ana replied. Everyone was huddled around the table while Starkiller was leaning up against the wall with his arms folded simply observing the others, though offering no insight to suggestions on the mission.

"Perhaps we'll have a better idea once we arrive on how to tackle this objective, we still are going in blind to a certain extent." Genji added.

"We'll have to be weary of automated defenses still active inside." The others looked over at Starkiller. "It may be abandoned but if there's one thing I've learned from Talon, they spare no expenses in preserving their hidden image. We should proceed with caution."

"Agreed." Ana nodded. There was a beeping noise sounding throughout the shuttle. Lena scampered back to the pilots seat and switched off the autopilot and took controls of the ship.

"Approaching the facility, everyone strap in for landing." Lena yelled back at them as the ship made it's decent and found an opening in the foliage. The landing gear came out and the ship gingerly touched down. The ramp came out the side as the team walked down and entered the humid environment not too far from the lab. They walked through a small path, rustling through some leaves off of some low hanging branches. The five got to the doors of the facility, Ana brought up some goggles and scanned the building.

"No heat signatures. Nobody is in there." She put the goggles down.

"Good then lets get inside." Fareeha said as she raised her rocket launcher at the door. Starkiller placed a hand on her weapon and slowly lowered it.

"We might trigger their defenses if we blast our way in, better to find a different way inside." Fareeha jerked her weapon back from him scuffing at him in the process. Starkiller approached the front doors touching them gently. They were familiar to him and he couldn't shake that unnerving feeling. "Wait here, I'll find a way to open the doors." He said to them as he vanished from their sight, and appeared inside the facility on the other side of the doors. He took in the sight, the place had moss and mold protruding through the walls and ceiling. He turned to the door and examined the controls. He looked carefully and typed some numbers in the number pad. He glanced at the door, nothing.

"Hurry up in there!" He heard the muffled shout from outside he could only assume it was from Fareeha. He looked around to see if he could find anything to help give him a clue. He looked around before he saw what appeared to be a hand print scan. He took his glove off and placed his hand on the scanner. The screen lit up as a holographic line scanned his hand print. _CODENAME REAPER._ The VI voice said over the intercomm as the doors made a cluncking noise as the gears started turning and the doors rise, the light from the outside slowly engulfing the inside of the hall. "Reaper.." Starkiller said to himself putting his glove back on. "That can't be right." He said to himself. The four walked in and examined the place as it looked like nobody had been here in a while. They walked inside down the hall and came at to a divide. The hallways split in two leaving the team at an impasse.

"Genji and I will explore down this way, you three take the other hall." Ana handed her daughter the other device Winston had made. "Remember we are looking for a terminal, or a control center of some kind. Keep in touch and stay vigilant." They nodded and went their separate ways. Fareeha, Lena, and Starkiller walked cautiously down the dimly lit hallway. Doors were on either side of the hall all of which didn't lead to any indication of any terminals or access point to a server of some kind. Until Starkiller noticed a door way that seemed familiar to him.

"Hold on." He said causing the other two stop and watch him open the door as he entered a dark room. The other two followed him not knowing what he was doing. Starkiller held his hand up and illuminated the room with an energy ball he formed in his hand. The other two looked around examining the room that was deceptively big, the size being hidden in the darkness. Starkiller slowly crept to the center of the room and knelt down on one knee examining a spot on the ground.

"Find something?" Lena asked walking up to him.

"This is the place." He said almost mumbling.

"Yes we know this is the place, come on we are wasting time here." Fareeha barked at him starting to exit the room.

"This is the place where I killed him Lena." The spot he was touching was the blood stained ground where he had impaled the other test subject. He got up from his knee, Lena put her hand on his shoulder trying to comfort him slightly.

"Cmon love, we need to keep looking."

The three exited the room and continued down the narrow hall, still on their guard for anything. Every door they came across they opened in hopes for finding a terminal of some sort. The three came to another divide one hall having another series of doors and another that appeared to be a dead end.

"This way." Fareeha commanded, pointing to the one having all the doors, though Starkiller ignored her and started walking down the other hall. "I said this way." She raised her voice at him. He turned so that only the side of his helmet was seen by her and Lena. He raised his hand and motioned for them to follow him. Lena and Fareeha both looked at each other before Lena shrugged her shoulders and followed him, Fareeha just grunted out of frustration and followed suit as well. The darkness started to engulf the trio the deeper they went, Starkiller again illuminating light from his energy before they came to a rusty door with the insignia on the side, "L-3".

Starkiller opened the door slowly as the trio's gaze fell upon a big monitor in the background of the lab with a single exam table next to a intricate machine that had a plethora of gadgets and needles sticking out of it.

"This is it." Starkiller said walking up to the exam table placing a hand on it. Though the touch was through his gloves he wore with his armor, the coldness of the table brought back unwelcomed memories of his time being strapped down on the table. He broke his concentration as he saw a computer sitting on the desk at the far end of the room, one which Fareeha had approached and looked for a way to extract the data.

"Wait." Starkiller said making her pause in her tracks. "Let me see the data first."

"Why would I do that?" She barked back.

Starkiller went up to her forcing his way in front of her as he started to type away at the keyboard trying to access the server. "I know you hate me and want nothing to do with me but this is my only chance to find out who I am." He paused and took his helmet off placing it next to the keyboard. "Please don't deny me this opportunity." His eyes stared at hers with a plead that even she couldn't deny, despite her hatred of him. She motioned for him to carry on as she went on to examine the other devices in the room.

His attention was drawn back to the monitor where he accessed a data packet that was filled with audio and video files. He opened the first audio file titled "S-00" and Moira's voice filled the room.

 _The recovery of Gabriel Reyes' body was a success. Though the nano technology of Dr. Ziegler had an unforeseen side effect to his body. His body is in a constant battle between decaying and structural repairs from the nano tech, likely from the fact that he was deceased for a couple of days before starting the procedure. The change in his DNA is interesting to say the least. It would appear manipulating one's DNA in this way could give one the abilities one could dream of. This does make one wonder, if this can be accomplished with resurrecting someone from the dead, what could one achieve with someone already living._

Starkiller's brow furrowed as he looked up at Lena who's attention was drawn to the devices in the room. Fareeha's attention was fixated on him watching to make sure he wasn't doing anything to mess up the data extraction.

He scrolled down to the next audio file and again Moira's voice filled the room as soon as he clicked on it.

 _It would appear that the soldier enhancement program was an essential variable that made this effect possible for Mr. Reyes. The nano technology mixed with the the small biotic doses injected into the soldiers is a major cause for the abilities of Mr. Reyes. With the success of what has resulted in Mr. Reyes, Talon has already backed my research and wants me to further explore the possibilities of creating the perfect soldier, the perfect killing machine._

"We are wasting time nothing here is giving you the answers you desire." Fareeha said to him. Starkiller ignored her and scrolled down past some of the audio and video files and clicked one that had a bigger data size. This one was a video file that popped up on the screen in the background. It immediately showed what appeared to be a lifeless body being carried away behind Moira as she documented more of her research.

 _The last of the list of candidates presumed to be perfect for the program didn't survive even the beginning of the procedures. None of them survived the first stage of the biotic amplifiers. These results are troubling to say the least. Talon isn't known for their patience in these situations, I need to tell them something. What if instead of picking someone, we create a perfect specimen. But how is the question. Perhaps Mr. Reyes may still be of some use to me._

Now even Fareeha was intrigued by this. She was standing over his shoulder with Lena standing and watching as well. "Play the next one." Fareeha said staring at the screen. He obliged and again another video popped up on screen.

 _The first batch was a success. The DNA of Mr. Reyes took and the incubation of thirty_ _specimens are well on their way to growth. The incubators will accelerate their growth to their peak physical form, only then will we attempt to place the amplifiers in them and await their powers to be unmatched by anyone or anything._

The video showed a series of tiny test tubes that only had a small organism in each one, but the video cut to one of the test subjects being strapped to the table fully grown.

 _Beginning the procedure of placing amplifier one on the spine._ The video was now from the perspective of Moira performing the procedure. _Making the first incision down the length of the subjects spine._ The man was yelling and screaming in agony that was starting to drown out her lecture. _Please muffle the subject._ Now his yells were drowned out by a cloth shoved in his mouth _. Attaching the first amplifier to the spine._ A tiny device was placed over the exposed bone. The device then started drilling itself onto the spine causing the man to yell in agony still muffled. _Heart rate is climbing doctor_ , one of the assistants said shortly before the sound of a flat line filled the room. Moira paused and let out a sigh _. Subject A-30 deceased during first surgical procedure of biotic enhancement devices. We'll need to create more subjects for us to continue my research._

"My God." Escaped Fareeha's mouth, Lena remained speechless. Starkiller scrolled down to one of the largest files hoping it would provide insight to him, though he had a sinking feeling he now already suspected where he came from. He opened the video titled "S-s01."

 _The adjustments made to this batch will warrant a lower mortality rate for these subjects. Mr. Reyes' base DNA was still used with a few adjustments made to better acclimate the biotic fluids injected. Subjects S-01 to S-30 have already shown promising results so far, yielding the lowest mortality rate to date. S-20 and S-13 seem to be the most promising making it through stage one and stage two procedures with little complications. Once the final stage is complete, we will begin testing the subjects range of abilities and make further adjustments if necessary._

There was a long silent pause in the room, no one wanted to be the first to break the silence. Lena was the first to do so after no one eve dared to move. "So uh, that means that.."

"I came from a test tube." Starkiller cut her off sounding disappointing at the revelation. He got up from the seat and placed his helmet back on, welcoming hiding his face from the other agents. "We have what we want." He said to them.

Fareeha nodded and contacted the other two. "Captain we found the data. Beginning extraction, we'll see you back at the shuttle."

"Understood. See you there."

Fareeha placed the device into the usb hard drive slot as the screen showed that the device was beginning to move all data files to the drive. Lena walked over to Starkiller to see how he was holding up after finding out something as troubling as this. "Hey I just want you to know.."

"Stop. Just stop." He said holding his hand up. Before he could say anything else, suddenly all the lights turned on bright and a siren began sounding throughout the facility.

 _ALERT ALERT SYSTEM COMPROMISED. INITIATING SELF DESTRUCT PROTOCOL._

"Fuck we need to move now." Fareeha yelled as the device was finishing up extracting the data. As soon as the device was done she pulled it out and stuck it in her pocket as the three darted out of the room and ran for the exit. Security bots appeared from the ducts and started to fire at them forcing them to take cover from the fire. Fareeha handed Lena the usb stick. "Go. It's more important the data gets back to Overwatch safely. No arguments." She said before popping out of cover and firing her rockets at the bots. Lena took the device and in a blink of an eye ran past all the security and out the doors meeting Genji and Ana who were standing outside.

"What's going on?" Ana yelled at her.

"We need to get back the place is going to blow any minute!" Lena yelled back. The three started sprinting towards the shuttle getting on board.

"Where are the other two?" Genji asked.

Fareeha and Starkiller were fending off the seemingly endless stream of security bots shooting at them. She was dismantling the bots from afar before she was running low on ammo. "Shit" She muttered to herself. One bot came around the corner about to light her up before Starkiller sliced it in half. He blasted a few more back with his enegry blasts as the bots shattered against the wall.

 _DETONATION IN 30 SECONDS._ The automated voice started counting down each second. "There's too many! we'll never make it out in time!" Fareeha yelled at him through all the fire. Starkiller took a few more blasts fending off some more bots that were advancing on their position before he hid back behind cover. He looked around and saw an opening. He motioned for Fareeha to follow him before he took a few more blasts attempting to clear a path from the infinite number of bots coming at them.

 _20\. 19. 18._ The two were in a full sprint before a blast door came down and cut them off from the exit. "Fuck!" She yelled "We're cut off!" Starkiller tried to shield her as there was no cover for them to hide behind his armor was surprisingly sturdy for how light it was. He blasted back more of the drones before cutting down more that were getting closer, teleporting from bot to bot in rapid succession. _10\. 9. 8._ He teleported back to Fareeha and took her harm and teleported them through the door _5\. 4. 3._ Fareeha braced herself for the blast as Starkiller turned around. _1._ The explosion engulfed the center of the facility and seemingly both Fareeha and Starkiller.

The shuttle was in the air as the explosion went off, the shock wave rocked the shuttle in the air slightly. Genji and Ana looked at the explosion out of the window, Ana covering her mouth struggling to find any words. Lena looked out of the window and saw the smoke starting to clear. She caught a glimpse of a purple light starting to peak through the smoke. "Look!" She yelled as she landed the shuttle quickly.

Fareeha was covering herself, bracing for the impact of the explosion. As she slowly opened her eyes she saw that she and Starkiller were surrounded by a small barrier being projected by Starkiller. He was struggling to keep his footing as forming this barrier drained all of his strength. He was grunting and grimacing in pain from the strain this put on his body. The barrier diminished as Starkiller collapsed to the ground and fell to his knees panting from exhaustion.

"How..did you.." Fareeha trailed off from her question looking around that the area around them was completely decimated. "I didn't know you could do that."

"If I'm being..completely honest...I didn't either." Starkiller said between breathes. His head was filled with pain as he took his helmet off trying to find any way to relieve the pain. He immediately grabbed his head as the pain was starting to increase from a dull throb to an intense screech in his head. The shuttle landed as Ana ran out and embraced her daughter.

"I thought I lost you." She whispered in her ear. Ana then approached Starkiller helping him to his feet and helped him onto the shuttle sitting him down in a chair in the passenger part of the shuttle. The shuttle took off as they made their way back to Gibraltar. Lena set the ship on auto pilot and went to see how Starkiller was doing.

"You're nose. It's bleeding." She said, getting some tissues helping him stop the blood dripping from him. Starkiller held his head still trying to relieve himself of the pressure making his head feel like it was going to explode. The pain finally started to subside after a little while though a low throb was still bugging him. Ana walked up to him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Thank you." She knelt down to him and gave him a hug. "I don't know how I could ever repay you." She whispered in his ear before she got up and smiled at him. He gave her a nod, still holding a tissue up to his bleeding nose. Ana went back to the other two on the other end of the room before Lena pulled up a chair and sat in front of him placing a hand on his knee.

"How are you holding up from, well, you know."

"You mean discovering I was made in a lab and came from a test tube?" He said in a sarcastic annoyed tone. "Great. Never been better."

"I'm sorry I wish there was.."

"Look, stop!" He yelled at her getting up from his seat. The other three came into the room hearing the shouting. "I don't need your pity, I don't need anything from anyone!" He turned to the others staring at him from the outburst. He took a deep breath to regain his composure. "Let's just get the data back to your base." He tried to walk away before he started to become light headed and staggered to the side and caught himself against the wall. Lena went to go help him up. "Don't touch me!" He yelled at her and pulled himself back up and walked away from the bunch.

"What happened in there?" Ana asked.

"He found out what he is." Fareeha said.


	11. A New Hierarchy

Moira had finshed implanting her biotic amps in her new specimen and was stitching him up from the operations when Maximilien came in to her surprise.

"Still messing around with your little science project I see." He said to her. She ignored the patronizing comment and continued to touch up on her weapon. "Well this is what I wanted to inform you on, the council fears that we are sinking too many funds into your research for this," he turned and examined the naked man sitting up on her exam table. "Thing."

She finally finished and turned to him giving her full attention to him. "The council thinks this? Or do you think this?" She asked. "You've always been skeptical with my research despite the results."

"And what results would those be?" He started pacing around the room. "You've been riding the coat tails of bringing Reyes back from the dead, despite his short comings due to all of the side effects. Five years of research funded that have only shown us what?" He started to raise his voice as his frustrations were building. "Hundreds of clones made over those five years and what do have to show for it? Hundreds of failures and one that went A-wall before we had to deal with it." He started to exit the lab before he paused at the doorway. "As of now we are cutting any additional funds to your research." The omnic then left the lab leaving Moira trying to stomach her frustrations for the time being.

"I don't like him." Moira turned to the man sitting on her exam table.

"Yes he can be a bit frustrating." Then Moira started thinking. "Get dressed and follow me, we are going to have a meeting to introduce you to the rest of the council." She tossed him some cloths before organizing her paperwork. Reaper had returned from his escapade at the U.N. and walked into the lab before noticing the clone that was getting dressed.

"Oh great another one. Did we ever here back from Sombra?"

"No but that doesn't matter. We don't need her anymore." Reaper tilted his head to the side at the remark.

"Talon will have your head if they find out your other toy is still alive, and I'm not covering for you anymore."

"That won't be necessary. Come on, let's show the council my new weapon." Moira motioned for the clone to follow them out of the room. They arrived in a large conference room where most of the council was present, the only ones not present were. Antonio and Sanjay who were in the meeting via video call.

"Any particular reason you have called this meeting Moira?" Vialli asked.

Moira walked around the room in a slow pace. "It has been brought to my attention that some of us are not satisfied with the work being done here." She glared at Max after saying that. "However I think we are becoming out of touch with how much progress we have made over the years." She stood at the front of the room and motioned to Reaper. "Take Mr. Reyes for example, oh excuse me, the formerly deceased Mr. Reyes." The members looked at him as he was sitting folding his arms.

"Though his abilities and especially his mobility are rudimentary compared to what we have now, it was a remarkable jump in genetics and biological science." She continued pacing around the room. "Imagine the possibilities of beating death, having God on our side, the possibilities are endless. We would be the pinnacle of evolution surpassing even omnics." She stopped and paused for a moment and signaled her clone to come in the office. "Gentleman, that time is now."

The new clone walked in drawing attention from everyone in the room. They all started to mumble to each other before Akande interjected. "How is this one any different from the other one that had to be killed due to his short comings and growing conscience. What's to stop that from repeating?"

"I'm so very glad you asked." Moira said in an over the top tone. She then pointed to her head. "This one has an artificial brain, it will always obey what we tell it to do."

"An artificial brain? How is that even possible?" Sanjay asked.

"Though a good portion of his brain is organic, I made a few minor tweaks and adjustments while it was growing. It can obey any command we give, comprehend what we tell it, but unable to formulate its own thoughts and reasoning."

"So it is a mindless drone." Max said trying to undercut her sophisticated words.

"One not educated in the matter would think that." She shot back smiling at him. "Which brings me to my next point. I feel as though the council has been dragging a little. It's time we shake things up. From this moment on, I'm assuming control of all operations and direction of the organization." She stood with her head held high and her hands folded behind her back.

There was a silence in the room before Max spoke up trying to hold back his laughter. "You can't just assume control. We must call for a vote to elect a single power, and everyone only votes for themselves, and seeing as the decision must be unanimous, that's not likely to change anytime soon."

Moira had a smug grin on her face. "So you are telling me that if I call for a vote, you will vote for yourself Max?"

"This is a waste of time." Antonio blurted out before ending his video call and cutting out of the meeting early.

"Yes I would vote for myself. As I'm sure everyone else would." Moira smirked at the remark.

"Fine I call for a vote. Moira O'Deorain for leader." She said still holding her head up high.

Max stood up out of his chair shrugging his shoulders at everyone else. "Maximilien for leader." Akande stood up next but before he could say anything Moira held her finger up for him to pause.

"So, you are saying you are not going to stand behind me and are saying you could be the leader I can't be?" Max was becoming slightly confused but he shrugged his shoulders and nodded his head. "That's a real shame." She motioned at her clone and then pointed at Max. Without hesitation, the clone fired an energy blast with enough force that knocked the omnic's head clean off. His body slumped back into the chair sparking and twitching, as the head rolled on the floor. "Now Akande, you were about to cast your vote?" She asked as she smiled at him.

Akande remained silent for a minute before everyone in the room stood up in succession. "I vote Moira." Vialli said without hesitation. "I vote for Moira." Sanjay said immediately after him. Moira looked at Reaper and he scuffed and looked away. "As if I had any say in the matter." Finally Moira turned back to Akande.

"You were saying?" She asked.

Akande sat back down slowly. "What are your orders?" Moira laughed a hearty laugh and turned to the window.

"A new dawn is upon us gentleman. One that has been a long time coming. But first things first, we must eliminate the loose ends of the old Talon." Moira said.

"You mean Antonio?" Akande asked?

"Not only Antonio, but it's a start. The days of Talon operating in the shadows are no more. We will be the dominate force in the world for years to come."

"World domination? That seems a bit cliche doesn't it?" Vialli joked around, but quickly silenced his chuckle when Moira didn't even crack a smile.

"We have become too focused on finances, trying to flirt with the power of money. But if we instill fear by our show of power, our strength, nations will crumble beneath us." Moira clenched her fist trying to emphasis her point. "And that starts with Antonio, Reaper will take care of that matter."

"Good, I never liked the Italian bastard anyway." Reaper said

Moira turned around and looked at her clone. "Would you mind accompanying Reaper to deliver Antonio his severance package?" He nodded his head.

"I think I can handle the fat fuck myself."

"Just like you could handle Starkiller? I want to make sure he ends up dead." She noticed everyone's reaction to the revelation. "Yes he is still alive. But he was only a prototype. Dawn here has all the kinks worked out, near infinite stamina, better control of his powers, and the ability to process situations instantaneously."

"Dawn?" Akande asked.

"Yes, Dawn." She said smiling at her creation. "A very fitting name given our new direction don't you all agree?" Everyone nodded their heads in agreement for fear of ending up like the headless omnic.

"Very good. I await your report when you have completed your mission Reaper."

"What about Sombra?" Reaper asked.

Moira shrugged her shoulders. "If she isn't dead then she's probably captured by Overwatch. Either way she is of no use to us and can only serve to be a distraction to them."

* * *

Starkiller was sitting outside of the facility on the shore trying to take in all of the information he had just learned from the previous mission. He looked down at his forearm seeing that haunting insignia "S-13". He gritted his teeth and clenched his fists out of anger.

 _A clone._ He thought to himself. _Just a number to them and nothing to the outside world._ He looked at the sun hitting the ocean in front of him and shook his head and dropped his head. _There isn't anything for me in this life._ He scratched his head with the gun he was holding in his other hand. He stared down the barrel of the handgun holding his finger on the trigger. _No more pain, no more questions, just make it all stopped._ Just as he was about to pull trigger, flip the switch and end his life, a twitch away from making everything go dark, he was interrupted.

"Hey." Lena said walking on the beach. She could only see his back and nothing else. He heard her coming closer to him and debated on hiding the gun from her, but his arm just collapsed to the side, the metal of the gun landing in the sand with a thud. Lena paused in her steps after seeing the handgun in his hand to the side of him. "What are you doing with that?"

"None of your business." He responded in a low tone. He seemed to be ashamed that she found him out here.

"It won't fix your problems."

"How do you know it won't?" He stood up and flailed his arms up. "You heard the recordings, all her lectures and _lessons_. I'm just S fucking thirteen. Nothing more. Just a number waiting to be called to go. And I'm tired of waiting."

"You weren't like this before, and even now everyone here is warming up to you. Why give up now"

"Yea before I thought I was somebody with a life or something besides all this. Not something created in a fucking test tube!" He yelled at the ocean. He collapsed back down to the sand. He started to tear up and his voice started to crack from the feelings that were running a muck inside of him, swirling uncontrollably. Lena gingerly took a seat next to him. "So much doesn't make sense to me."

"Like what?"

"Like how do I know everything I know? How am I talking like a grown man? How do I even know what a grown man talks like? Lena I'm three fucking years old according to that fucking data." His grip on the gun started to loosen a bit the more he talked, maybe thinking out loud was making dealing with it easier. He looked down at his arms losing the battle of holding his tears in. "I feel like an abomination that is constantly out of place, I have no place in this world. The one place I did have tried to kill me."

"I think you could have a place here."

"Everyone thinks I'm a monster that needs to be _put down_."

"That's not true."

"You heard Morrison in the medical bay, he won't hesitate to put me down. Same fucking thing Reaper always said. Kicked me around when he was 'training' me. Always called me a mutt." The emotions were running through him violently.

"Captain Amari is praising you up one side and down another about how you saved Fareeha, and even Fareeha admitted she was impressed with you." Lena's hand was tangling into his trying to get the gun away from him. "You do have a place here, believe me you do."

"You don't get it!" He pulled away and stood up walking away before turning around and yelling. "Everything I know is a lie, or at least what I thought I knew, fuck it I don't even know how to say it!" Lena just watched him go off. "Imagine you found out that you never had a family, you never had a life, you never had anything!"

"I..I don't know"

"I don't know? Thats all you can say?" He dropped his arms flopping at his sides he looked down at the gun in his hand.

"Then do it."

Starkiller looked up at her surprised by her comment. "What?"

She got up in a huff, "If you're so sure that will fix your sorrows then do it." Starkiller was stunned, she got up in his face and was yelling at him. "You're being so goddam selfish. You have a chance to have a new start, and people who are willing to give it to you and you want to just throw it all away!"

"It's not that simple! My whole perspective on the world has changed. I have nobo-" *SMACK*

"Don't you dare say you have nobody anymore because you have us, you have me!"

Starkiller placed his hand over his face where she just smacked him. "I put my life on the line, my life here in jeopardy because I believe in you! And you want to just throw it away." Her face was red from yelling, trying to catch her breath.

Starkiller looked down as the gun slipped out of his hand landing in the sand. "I'm lost Lena." His voice was slipping from him.

Lena took his hand and placed it over her chest. "You feel that?" Starkiller didn't know what he was suppose to feel. She placed her other hand on his chest. "Yours is beating just the same as mine." Her hand slid up his chest and up to his face caressing his face to look at hers. "You always have a place here." Her hazel eyes were locked with his blue eyes that had a purple hue around them. She started pulling him closer to her. "Always." Barely a whisper slipped out of her mouth before she embraced him, massaging his lips with hers. Starkiller finally relaxed drinking in the intoxicating taste of Lena's tongue wrestling with his. Lena's arms wrapped around his neck, instinctively he grabbed her waist, feeling her tight abs and sliding around to her back holding her in. He broke the kiss first taking a big sigh, almost feeling like he had taken the most refreshing breath ever. "I'm..I'm sorry. I went too far." Lena apologized her face flushed red. Though he wasn't sure if it was from the embarrassment or from the kiss.

He didn't say anything to her but picked her up and pinned her against one of the rocks they were near. In the heat of the moment he lost control of his actions feeling like he was on autopilot. He attacked her lips again holding her up by her rear, cupping them as he gently started moving down her neck, forcing a small moan to escape from her mouth as her jaw went slack from the pleasure she was feeling. He started to try and take her top off, but her accelerator was in the way. "It's fine." She whispered. She unhooked and tossed it aside as she quickly took her tank top off as well exposing her small but perky breast. She was getting lost in the heat as well. He placed her down on the sand and started to kiss her down on her breast teasing her nipples. She grabbed the back of his head and held his hair. Her breathing was getting short and hard. He made his way back up to her neck and finally met her lips again.

Her hands reached down and pulled her shorts and panties down and made quick work of his pants too. His member was already hard resting against her already wet inviting lips. He paused in the moment before looking into her eyes. She pulled him close so that there foreheads were touching gingerly. He started grinding against her, his member rubbing against her sensitive spots, her hands were clenching and clawing at his back. She grabbed his shirt and pulled off and over his head tossing it aside feeling his bare chest against hers. The bare skin touching only added to the heat of the moment, she felt every scratch, every scar that was on him. Her hips were starting to buck in anticipation as his head lined up with her entrance. Both of them were heaving and panting. "Don't stop." She whispered looking into his eyes. He pressed into her, parting her lips making her arch her back, mouth dropping open and eyes closing as she spasmed around him. A small moan escaped him feeling her muscles tighten around him. He stopped when his full length was in her. She pulled him in for another long kiss, continuing to buck her hips as he picked up the pace too. Their pace was still slow, both of them savoring the moment. She wrapped her legs around him and tightened her grip as she was getting close to her peak. Her moans were tiny and short adding to the heat of the moment. She finally was there as she started to lose control and moan louder burying her face into the crook of his neck muffling her noises. She clenched tight around his member making him reach his peak too. "Lena." slipped out of his mouth.

"Keep going." She said exhaling in lust. He slammed as deep as he could holding her tight as he pulsated inside of her letting out a relieving moan. The two held their tense positions as they both letting out small moans followed by short breaths, their hips still slightly moving with minds of their own. Lena had a small smirk on her face, before she pulled him in for one more kiss. Both of them panting and sweating, he slipped out and flopped to the side of her. She rolled over and placed a hand on his chest scooting closer to him, her head resting on his shoulder as he held her close to him. "You'll always have a place in my heart." She whispered out snuggling as close as she could to him. Starkiller didn't say anything back but squeezed her tight, thinking holding her would make him feel safe, and all of his worries would go away. The two laid there for a while still coming down from the high they were on listening to the waves of the ocean crash in the background. Lena propped herself on her side with her arm and pecked his cheek. She sat up and stretched her arms out, the sun's rays hitting her at the perfect angle. "Hey." Starkiller mumbled out causing her to turn around with the sun hitting her side. "You look beautiful." He had so many thoughts and questions that all seemed to vanish when he looked at her. Lena smiled back at him

"Come on love let's get back inside." She brushed as much of the sand off of her and shook it out of the cloths that they had tossed aside, Starkiller doing the same. They got dressed and walked back inside the base, though Starkiller reached out and held her hand. The two seemed inseparable until they saw Ana and Morrison walking up to them. Starkiller retracted his hand as fast as he could before either of them noticed.

"Starkiller." He looked at Jack's expression as stern as ever. "Normally I don't take too kindly to stowaways on missions especially one as important as this." He glanced back at Ana for a moment. "But, Captain Amari here tells me you were invaluable to the retrieval of the data. And you saved one of our best agents." He extended his hand out to him waiting for him to return the favor. Starkiller glanced at Lena who gave him a smile and a little wink. He smirked at her and took a firm grip of Morrison's hand. "Good work out there son. We'll rethink your living quarters for the foreseeable future. We may have some room for you here."

"Appreciate it sir." The two continued to the mess hall where the majority of the agents seemed to be. Lucio skated his way over to the two to greet them as soon as they entered.

"Hey guys what's shaking? Heard you kicked butt on the mission out in the Amazon Star."

"Star?" He questioned.

Lucio shrugged his shoulders, "I'm trying out different names for you, Starkiller sounds too labored you know? You need something that rolls off the tongue easy man."

Star smiled. "I like it."

"Give me some time, I'm sure I can come up with some better ones." He said with a wink. "Man you should have heard Fareeha, she said you were dicing them bots up in the snap of a finger and then the explosion!" Lucio clapped his hands together like an applause. "You really are something man." A crumpled up piece of paper came flying out and hit Lucio in the back of the head presumably thrown by Fareeha a little ways away. "What it's true girl don't even lie." Starkiller smiled and shook his head. Maybe this was just the right place for him after all. The three sat down as Lucio went on about god knows what, the man loved to ramble. Star's hand reached out and took a hold of Lena's under the table. She smiled back at him as she tangled her fingers with his. For the first time since he had arrived at Overwatch, his own survival was no longer the top priority for him.


	12. A New Enemy

The sweat was running down his face and dripping off his chin as his chest heaved from trying to catch his breath. He gripped the hilt with all his strength waiting for the signal to attack. With his sheath on his back he was itching to draw his sword from over his shoulder anticipating when his opponent would strike. In the blink of an eye, his opponent dashed forward, forcing Star to draw his sword to defend the attack, their steel clanging with an ear piercing ping. Star jumped back getting a better footing and swung his blade, Genji blocking all of his strikes with ease. With amazing swiftness, Genji jumped up and over him throwing his shurikens at Star before he blasted all of them with his energy blasts making them diminish into dust. Star shielded his eyes as the dust surrounding him. As the dust settled he saw Genji coming at him for another barrage of attacks. He vanished and appeared behind Genji, thinking he finally had the upper hand. To his disappointment, Genji unsheathed his smaller blade, deflecting his attack and kicking him back against the wall. As he came out of the daze from the impact, he saw Genji lunging at him. He vanished out of the way and tried a different course attacking. Firing a series of energy blasts at Genji, which he deflected handily, until the last blast left him open. Star teleported in front of him and had him dead to rights, driving his blade at him, before he stopped short the blade less than an inch away from Genji's chest.

"Excellent work." Genji said sheathing his blades. "You have become less predictable and your mobility has become much better."

Star twirled his blade around before holstering it on his back. "I appreciate you taking the time to spar with me."

"My pleasure." Genji folded his hands and bowed to him. "Its good to see some of my old blades being put to good use. For no formal training you move pretty swift." He took a seat on the bench examining his blade checking to see if it needed to be sharpened at all.

"When your 'training' was life or death, you learn to be quick on your feet." Star sat down on the ground throwing his head back, his body was relieved he was finally taking a break.

"If you don't mind my inquiry, what did your training consist of."

 _Starkiller was tossed aside completely out of breath, clawing to get to his feet. He felt a boot pin him to the ground with the shotgun pointed at the back of his head_

 _"Better get moving."_

 _He yelled in agony as he managed to teleport one last time out from under the boot, his powers were taking a toll on his body. He propped himself up against the far wall, barely staying awake eyeing the shadowy figure slink over towards him._

 _"That'll do mutt"_

 _Gasping for air he slumped to the ground grabbing his side in agony. He took his hand away to see his blood covering his palm. He clenched his fists and let out a bellowing yell before passing out in exhaustion._

Starkiller took a deep breath at the thought of his time back at Talon. "It was brutal to say the least, but it did teach me how to conserve my energy better. There were more than a couple of close calls."

"I see." Genji's attention returned to his blade. "In any case I'm glad I could assist you. Do come back anytime you wish to spar." Star gave him a little salute as he packed his things in his bag and went returned to his quarters. The mood of his presence had changed drastically in the past week. His actions at the research facility in the Amazon was still circulating through all the agents. The fact that his powers were showcased in such a fashion was certainly a factor why. Nobody had ever seen a show of power like that before. Though he still had reservations about the truth of how he was made, Lena definitely helped put the world in..perspective. He couldn't help but smile every time he saw her or thought about her. As she always like to point out she had saved him before from the likes of Sombra and Reaper, but the way she saved him this time was on a much deeper level.

Morrison arranged for one of the smaller rooms that was previously used for storage, be cleared out for him to stay in. It was considerably smaller than all the other agents rooms, but it was for sure an upgrade to staying in the detention center with Sombra. He opened the door to his room. There were no wall papers or anything of the sorts. Just a television set that Lucio had provided, and a fold out couch to sleep on. To anyone else it would seem like a slap in the face to be living in these conditions, but Star preferred the emptiness. He had a pile of some spare clothes to change into thanks to McCree, though Jesse had a bigger build to him so most of the clothes were pretty big on him. He mostly stuck to wearing the tight fabrics he wore under his armor. They were familiar to him, which was a rare concept he came across these days. A knock on the door startled him a bit. "Hey Star you in there love?" His smile grew even bigger as her voice was music to his ears.

He opened the door seeing the cute Brit smiling back at him. "Some of us are grabbing some lunch down in the mess hall. Wanted to see if you could come join us."

"Sure yea let me just change real quick." Lena came inside and closed the door behind her.

"Heard you been training with Genji." She said sitting down on his couch. She wasted no time getting comfortable.

He took his shirt off his back facing her as he tossed the sweaty shirt in a pile in the corner of the room. "Trying to get better at pacing my stamina. Still struggling with it a bit."

"See I told you they were coming around to you!" She threw her hands up in the air in excitement. Star just chuckled still looking for a change of clothes.

"I'm just doing what I can at this point, not trying to stir the pot up too much you know?" He found what he was looking for putting the shirt on and turning to see Lena with that infectious smile. But the smile started to fade a little.

"You're bleeding again." She scampered and held a towel to his nose. "Pretty bad this time." Star looked at the floor below him not realizing there were droplets of blood below him.

"Shit. Sorry about that."

Lena looked concerned for him, "You might want to get that checked out by Angela, this is the third time this week."

Star shrugged his shoulders, "I feel fine though, I'm sure it's probably nothing serious." He dabbed his nose a couple more times seeing it had stopped. "Guess I should pick another shirt." He joked looking down as a couple of streaks stained his shirt. Lena just shook her head. She took a good look at his toned back as he bent over to get another shirt. She came behind him and wrapped her arms around him pressing her body against his. He closed his eyes and smiled before dropping his arms to cradle hers. "How do you do that?"

"Do what?" She asked still pressing against him.

"Make me feel so..I don't even know how to say it. Like I belong here." He turned around and faced her.

She smiled and planted a light kiss on his chest and looked up at him. He kissed her forehead and got the rest of the way dressed. The two left his room and went to get some food.

The mess hall was fairly crowded at this time. The television was on in the background as Winston was watching keeping up with world news. Reinhardt and Tobjorn were the loudest out of everyone sharing old stories of the Omnic war. Ana was enjoying a cup of tea with Angela. Hana and Lucio were listening to some music together. Just another day at base. Lena had gotten herself some tea and biscuits, while Star stuck with his same old coffee and toast.

"You should try some of the other things here, the food is actually pretty good."

"I'm a creature of habit." He joked with her. He looked down at his very light meal. "I don't know I think I'm made to not require much intake of food, I'm never really that hungry." He took a small bite of his toast and took a swig of his coffee. "I don't know." He shrugged his shoulders.

"It's just what you're use to I get it. But really if they're ever serving.." Star started to zone out while Lena started to go on about the food. He caught a glimpse of the television that Winston was watching and squinted when he saw an image of some businessman. His eyes shot wide open when he recognized him.

"What's wrong love?" Lena asked. Star ignored her and shot out of his chair over towards Winston.

"Who is that?" He asked urgently.

"Antonio Bartalotti, an Italian businessman, a man of low morals at that." Winston replied. Star started to clench his fists. "He's done some shady deals with drug lords, arms dealers, though he never has been nailed for any of them."

"Where's Morrison?" Star asked Winston.

"I believe in his office, but I don't know if.." before he could finish his sentence Star took off in a full sprint.

"Hey what's going on?" Lena asked but Star didn't respond running out of the mess hall. He was ducking and dodging people in the hall way trying not to waste anytime at all before bursting through Morrison's door.

Morrison peered up from some paper he was reading. "Something I can do for you?"

"Antonio Bartalotti."

Morrison placed his paper down, "What about him?"

"He's part of Talon."

Morrison got up out of his chair and walked to the door peaking outside before closing the door and locking it. He sat down at his chair and typed on his keyboard motioning Star to look at something. They were images of Antonio though who he was with was too distorted to make out. "We knew he had some sort of deals with Talon, possibly supplying them with weapons or a means to getting weapons."

"He's part of the council." Jack raised an eyebrow at the comment.

"Council?" Morrison asked. Star nodded his head.

"There's a bunch of them, I don't know some of them, but I think they basically control Talon operations, or at the very least a big portion of them." Jack leaned on the desk staring ahead thinking deeply about this revelation.

"You're absolutely sure about this?"

"Without a doubt."

Morrison started to nod his head, "I'm taking a big risk with this, for your sake I hope you're right. Wait here." Morrison went to his communicator and picked it up to contact Ana. "Captain, get Genji and McCree, we have an important mission, priority black."

* * *

"I can get out of here anytime you know." Sombra said laying in her bed.

"Mhm I'm sure you could." McCree said not breaking his focus away from his newspaper.

"I know a lot about things I shouldn't about some folks around here." She continued to try and distract him from his reading.

"All that doesn't do you much good here does it?" He flipped to the next page taking a sip from his whiskey. He finally looked up from his paper when he heard the elevator doors open seeing Ana with one of the security guards.

"Jesse, Jack wants you." The guard left the elevator to take Jesse's spot in watching the prison block.

"Aye aye captain." McCree grunted as he got up and accompanied Ana into the elevator. Sombra raised her eyebrow and eyed the guard trying to size him up. _Too easy_. She thought to herself.

"Aye papi, you think you could get me something to drink, I'm pretty thirsty right now." She swayed her hips from side to side and gave the man a wink. The guard tried to ignore her but she caught a glimpse of his eye wandering over in her direction. She grinned. _Gotcha_. She turned around and posed against the bars sticking her rear out. "Or maybe you could help scratch an itch, been getting lonely around here." She bit her lip and smirked at him. The guard came up to the cell door before slamming the bars with his baton.

"Cut the chatter."

"Oh come on papi, it's just little old me, and I'm stuck in here, not like there's any loss for you." She turned back around and felt him up through the bars. "Ooh looks like I'm a lucky gal after all." She got down on her knees and cocked her head to the side, "Sure you can't give something to drink?" She licked her lips.

The guard swallowed heavy and looked at the security camera. "They would see us from there."

"Turn it off then." She said as she un-clipped a button on her shirt still keeping her head cocked to the side. "I promise I won't tell. You must get pretty flustered with all the pretty young gals strutting about not being able to do anything about it."

The guard licked his lips gazing at the cleavage he was being shown. "Make it quick ok?"

"Of course, papi." He went over to the computer and paused the security feed before he came to the cell bars again and started to unbuckle his pants.

"You a dirty little slut aren't yo-" Sombra punched the guard in his sack causing him to bend over in pain. She reached through the cell bars and put him in a headlock choking the man.

"Keys or I'll snap your neck." The guard gasping for air frantically before he brought out a key card. She snatched it out of his hand proceeding to still snap his neck, his body crumpling to the ground. "Tch, boys are too easy." She opened the cell door and went to the desk where her hacking gloves were kept and placed them on. "It's good to be back." She waved her hands around activating her cloaking as she entered the elevator.

Ana and McCree entered Jack's office with Genji and Star already there.

"This is big, if what Starkiller says here is true, we can cripple Talon for good. Or at least for a good time. However this is a high risk high reward type of mission. One that will be going off the record."

McCree wasted no time getting comfortable sitting down in one of the chairs leaning back. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but ain't this what got us on the bad side of all them bureaucrats?"

Morrison looked around around the room giving a slight nod to Ana who returned the nod. "We believe there may be a reason for the way we have been tied down by red tape. We think the incident in Switzerland may have been a set up from the beginning."

Star was the only one who was lost now. "Incident in Switzerland?"

"It's where our main base of operations use to be." Ana replied.

"When Overwatch was at it's peak." Morrison added.

"Speak for yourself." McCree replied. "We were always the ones doing the dirty work."

"Now is not the time to rekindle an old bicker that has already been buried." Genji finally breaking his silence. He then motioned to Morrison that he had the floor once more.

"In any case, we have been sparse for reporting to the U.N. since the arrival of Starkiller. This could be a turning point in this battle with Talon. Suit up team." Ana saluted him back, Genji bowed, and McCree tipped his hat as they exited the office. Starkiller was standing there unsure of what he should do. Morrison took his seat noticing he was still in his office. "Didn't you hear me? I said suit up." Morrison looked at him and gave him an small smile.

Star smiled back and ran out of the office catching up with the others. The four were at the doors for the elevator when Lena caught up to them. "Hey, why'd you just run off like that?" She looked and saw the company he was with. "What's going on?"

"High priority mission chief is sending us on." McCree said adjusting his gloves, "covert type and all."

Lena looked at Star disappointed in a way that she wasn't included. "Let me come." She looked to Captain Amari.

"No offense there sparkles, but you're not exactly best suited for covert op missions." McCree gestured to his chest. Lena looked down at her device and sighed.

"We could use all the help we can get." Star said. "Plus I need to try and even up our score." He winked at her and smiled.

"Don't know if this is the best idea." McCree replied. The five walked into the armory where Torbjorn had returned to fixing up his gadgets. Ana and Genji wasted no time in putting on their respective armor. Their armor had a sleek black look to it. For once Star's Talon armor seemed to fit in with the rest of the group. Lena looked down at her attire. Her bright orange leggings with her coat didn't exactly give off the same vibe as the others. Torbjorn waddled up to Lena and patted her on the leg.

"Brave as always diving in unprepared huh?" He laughed a little causing a smile from the others.

"You know her, stubborn as always too." McCree snickered. Lena stuck out her tongue at him. Torbjorn waved for her to follow him.

"I think I may have something for you." He pulled out a light armor set for her that had a slot on the chest for her accelerator. It was a sleek midnight black and a mask that covered her entire face except a portion letting her eyes and the bridge of her nose peak through. "This little holster I built should keep the light from giving yourself away, it also muffles the sound too a bit."

"You're the best!" Lena said hugging Torb and put her gear on.

Star put his helmet on equipping the rest of his armor. His placed his sword on his back making sure the sheath was secure and the sword was easily accessible. He drew his sword out gave it a few swings before he twirled it around and sheathed it, making one last adjustment to his chest armor. The five stood at the hanger doors all of them in their black outfits blending in with the night. The five walked on to the shuttle they were taking. Star was the last one to board the shuttle but as he did, he heard a low hum and saw a pink silhouette rush past him. He turned and looked stopping in his tracks.

"What is it?" Ana asked. Star stood there looking around his eyes hidden by the visor on his helmet. His eyes darted around trying to catch another glimpse of whatever he just saw.

"Nothing I guess." The ramp leading up to the passenger part of the shuttle retracted as the doors started to close. Star couldn't help but get a sinking feeling that something wasn't right. With the shuttle in flight en route to Antonio's manor, where he was presumed to be at the time, the team were going through each ones pre mission rituals. Genji was sitting alone meditating, McCree was tossing cards into his hat, though maybe less of a ritual and just passing the time for him. Ana was checking her scope on her sniper rifle, making sure the alignment and focus where at the correct calibrations. Star just sat in at one of the tables leaning on his arms folding his hands, appearing to be in deep thought.

"Should be there in another thirty captain." Lena came out of the cockpit joining the rest. Ana propped her rifle up and placed her shrike mask on, the design of the helmet was similar to Star's.

"Listen up." Ana commanded. "Fire arms are not live on this, stealth is top priority. Avoid detection at all cost. Our goal is to get in, acquire the target and get out as quick as possible. The shuttle stealth drive is active so detection is not an issue. Once we have the target, rendezvous at the west side of the complex where will extract from the area." She grabbed her rifle and propped it up on the shoulder. "I will watch from the mountain side to the north, I will have a good view from there, the rest of you will repel from the shuttle and find an access point."

"And if our cover is blown?"

Ana exhaled in annoyance. "No witnesses but only as a last resort." She pointed her finger at everyone making sure her message was clear.

The shuttle approached the manor as Star gazed at the huge plot of land with the massive building in the center of it. McCree and Genji were at the ready with Lena right behind them as she pulled up her mask covering her face. Ana signaled for them to go as the doors opened and the four repelled down and on to the roof. Ana flew the shuttle to where she planned on posting up. So far everything was going without a hitch. Ana got into position and scoped in with her thermal scope marking targets inside the manor.

"I'm in position. three signatures on the third floor ten on the second. Target is alone in far side third floor." She radioed in to them.

McCree gave the signal with his hand to commence the infiltration. Genji scaled down to one of the windows carving it out with his blade to allow Lena and McCree to enter, Star just teleporting down to the hall they were in. McCree held his fist up as he checked around the corner. Seeing no one present he motioned to continue. As they walked down the hall as gingerly as ever, Ana was guiding them and alerting them to any incoming enemies, though they were avoiding them all with ease. "Target is on the third door to the left." Ana said still scoped in. She was focused intensely keeping a sharp wit about her. The four came to the door as McCree put two fingers up motioning to the other end of the hall. Genji and Lena went to the farside making sure the coast was clear. With a twitch of his head, McCree signaled Star teleport inside thinking the coast was clear. Star did just that, silently going inside, Antonio completely unaware as he was preoccupied watching t.v. sipping on a glass of wine. Through Ana's thermal scope she caught a glimpse of something that appeared to be hot mist through her lens. She knew only one was capable of that form. "Team Reaper is present on the manor." She spit it out as fast as she could, though it appeared her radio signal was being muffled. She tried to repeat herself but was cut off.

"Gotcha." Sombra came out of her cloak and bashed Ana in the back of her head knocking her out cold.

Lena looked at Genji who noticed the static on the radio which transitioned to a quick cut to the feed as well. She looked back at McCree and tapped her ear, letting him know they had no radio contact. McCree circled his finger in the air letting them know that they needed to wrap this up quick. McCree opened the door and entered still not alerting Antonio, Lena and Genji standing by the door on the look out for anyone.

As Star and McCree were inches away from nabbing their target. A low mumble pierced the air that caught their attention.

"Fancy seeing you hear." Star and McCree dodged out of the way to opposite sides of the room, avoiding Reaper's shotgun blast that barely missed Antonio scaring him something fierce.

"What's the matter with you!" Antonio yelled. Genji and Lena popped in weapons drawn at the commotion coming from inside. "You could have killed me!" Antonio was still yelling at Reaper with the false sense that he was there protecting him.

McCree took Antonio at gun point thinking it would stop him. "Not another step there." McCree jammed his gun into his temple with a bit of force. Reaper just started to laugh a little before Genji and Lena came bursting through the door weapons drawn.

"You won't do it. You need him alive don't you?" McCree grit his teeth. He was right but at the moment he was the only thing stopping Reaper from going on a rampage. "Rookie mistake there, partner." Reaper said with a sarcastic sneer. "If you take a hostage," he took out one of his shotguns and blasted Antonio in his chest. "Make sure your enemy actually gives a shit whether he lives or not." McCree flinched back at the shot. Lena proceeded to unload her pulse pistols into Reaper, but her shots were blocked by a mysterious new enemy none of them had seen before. But the armor he was wearing was far too familiar to them. Dawn cocked his arm back preparing to blast Lena back. Star teleported to Dawn and knocked him back with a blast of his own, sending him through the wall.

"We need to go now!" Star yelled out. He understood what this new enemy was capable of, and none of them stood a chance against him. He fired one more blast knocking Reaper back as well. He bought them enough time to escape to the roof.

As they were running Lena tried to radio for help. "Captain! come in! We need extraction ASAP!" Still nothing. The four were on the roof looking when they spotted the shuttle off in the distance.

"We'll have to make our way back there. Hopefully the captain is alright." Star said before Dawn teleported to the roof. "Go! I'll buy you guys time."

Genji and McCree started to climb down the side of the building, though Lena was hesitant to leave him. "Lena go, he's too dangerous for any of you to face." In the moment Dawn teleported over and started beating back Star, putting on the defensive. His attacks were fierce and quick, but Lena as stubborn as ever refused to leave and blinked in and tackled Dawn pinning him to the ground pointing both her pistols at his head. "No Lena get back!" But it was too late, Dawn grabbed both her pistols and fired blasts into them, destroying them instantly. He kicked Lena off of him and fired a blast, though Lena dodged it blinking out of the way. While he was focused on Lena, Star teleported up to him and drew his sword to strike him. Dawn's hands glowed with a red aura, as he formed two blades in each hand, blocking Star's strike. He started swinging wildly Star struggling to keep up. Lena took out a pulse bomb thinking she had him now. She blinked up to them as Dawn blasted Star away and drove a blade through Lena's gut. She managed to muster a smile through the pain and activated the pulse bomb sticking to him before recalling back. She felt around where she had just been stabbed and saw her plan worked perfectly. Dawn couldn't react in time before the bomb detonated in his face.

"Gotcha." She exhaled in relief, though her battery on her accelerator was running dangerously low on its battery life with how much energy she just used.

McCree and Genji were running through the field before Reaper appeared in front of both of them.

"Why'd you kill em Reyes?" McCree asked before he drew his revolver out.

Reaper drew both his shotguns out pointing each one at McCree and Genji. "My old proteges. Shame you guys couldn't finish the job."

"What are you guys up to?" McCree asked circling around him. He knew they wouldn't last in a fight with him for long, but he turned his body hiding the fact he was reaching for a flash bang.

"I don't ramble like the doctor, you aren't getting my to talk."

"Well that's just find, wasn't gonna listen anyway." McCree tossed the flash bang as both he and Genji shielded their eyes. Reaper was left completely blind, as the two continued sprinting towards the shuttle. The static on the radio in their headsets was fading in and out. "Captain you there?"

"Miss me cowboy?" Sombra smirked at them as she scoped down Ana's rifle. McCree's face dropped as soon as he heard the Spanish accent.

"Get down Genji!" He pushed him aside as a sniper bullet whizzed past the both of them. "God dammit. This is a real shit show now." The two were taking cover in some bushes trying to stay out of sight from Sombra.

Star grabbed Lena by the arm and teleported them down to the ground. The two of them sprinted towards the shuttle. Star felt a stinging pain go through his head but shook it off as getting out of here was the only priority. The saw gunfire in the distance from Reaper as he was still battling Genji and McCree though they were unaware of Sombra perched up with a sniper.

"We need to help them and get out of.." Lena's words were cut off as a sniper round pierced her shoulder staggering her to the side yelling out in pain. Star took a hold of her and teleported out of sight.

"How bad is it?"

"I'll manage, go they need your help." Star was hesitant to leave her alone for the time being as she tried her best to cover her shoulder to stop the bleeding. "I'll be fine go." Star left her and teleported to the other two firing a blast sending Reaper flying away.

"Get to the shuttle I'll go back for Lena." Genji and McCree nodded as they stayed low in the bush line making their way to the shuttle.

Lena was moving slowly through the trees grimacing in pain from the sniper round. She heard a twig break behind her from a footstep and hid behind a tree trying to not make a sound from breathing. She peaked around the tree and saw two red blades emitting light through the dark. She hid back behind cover trying to move quietly. Dawn was on the hunt as he got impatient with the cat and mouse game and started slashing trees in his way, startling Lena by the sudden burst of noise. He located her and teleported over to her face, backing Lena up against a tree.

"Clever move, but I doubt you could do it again." He said to her.

"How did you-" Her sentence was cut short as he picked her up by her neck. She struggled to breathe clawing at his arm gaining no better position.

"Leave her alone!" Starkiller sprinted in and tackled Dawn against the tree, slinging him around to the ground. He was furious now, his protective instincts really kicked in now. Nobody was allowed to touch Lena like that. His aura was glowing bright as his attacks were relentless on Dawn. Lena got up and sprinted for the shuttle. Star slammed him against the surrounding environment dodging every counter Dawn tried. The longer he fought the more intense the pain in his head was becoming, but Star ignored it. Dawn's face was mangled from the beat down Star was giving him. Star mustered up one last blast that sent Dawn flying through some trees and all the way back to manor.

"Come on where are you." Sombra said to herself looking through the scope of the sniper. She was scouting the open field looking to pick off any easy targets. Ana started to wake up noticing the hacker holding her rifle. She pulled a sleep dart out of her holster and fired it at Sombra getting her in the heck. Sombra flinched at the pain as she pulled the needle out. "Son of a..not again.." She collapsed to the floor as Ana took her rifle back. She heard some rustling in the nearby bushes pointing her rifle at the noise.

"Just us Captain." McCree said holding his hands up.

Ana breathed a sigh of relief. "Whats the situation?"

"We're high tailing it out of here that's the situation." McCree said back getting onto the shuttle.

"Where are the other two?" Genji asked. just as he did they saw a bright flash of purple light in the woods.

"Something tells me that would be them." McCree grabbed more ammo for his revolver loading it up. "Start the shuttle I'll be back with em."

Genji and Ana got on board and started the shuttle up. McCree was locked and loaded running into the woods. He spotted Lena first who was struggling to keep herself upright leaning against a tree. He helped her before she pushed him off and pointed behind her. "Him, go help him." She started running back behind him as McCree continued running to the source of the light show. He spotted Star who was down on all fours. He had completely depleted his energy in the last bout he had with Dawn.

"Come on we have to go now!" McCree yelled and pulled him to his feet placing an arm around him carrying him over his shoulder. He didn't waste time to look behind him. By the time the two got to the shuttle, Lena had made it on board as McCree placed Star in one of the seats. "All accounted for, punch it!" He yelled at Ana who wasted no time. The shuttle took off and was in flight back to base.

Reaper grunted in pain as he took some of the twigs out of his sides from landing in some branches and watched the shuttle fly away. Dawn walked up to him looking at the shuttle fly away as well.

"They were more skilled than I thought." He said flat out.

"Don't take them lightly, next time don't waste time toying with them." Reaper barked back at him. He radioed back to base. "Mission accomplished. Antonio is dead."

Genji was wrapping Lena's shoulder in some bandages and patching her up. "That was a formidable opponent." He commented.

"But luckily we had Star watching our backs." Lena said back still grimacing slightly. She looked at Star who was leaned up against the wall looking like he was losing his balance. "Star whats wrong?"

He didn't say anything back. To him he had an ear piercing screech going through his head it seemed like. His head felt like it was about to explode from the noise. He turned around and lost his footing and crumpled to the ground. "Star?!" Lena yelled out in a panic.

McCree propped him up in the chair and took his helmet off. Blood was streaming out of his nose his eyes pinched shut at the pain in his head. The voices around him were becoming more muffled as he felt the will to stay awake quickly diminish away. His head slumped to the side as he was completely out now.

McCree slapped him around trying to wake him up. "We gotta get home fast. This don't look good. Get in contact with Angela, tell her be ready when we land."


	13. Revelations

Star was being rushed to the medical wing as soon as the shuttle landed. Angela and a team of doctors on duty took him into the operating room Lena tried following them until Angela stopped her.

"I don't want to leave him Angela." She looked worried to death for him, more concerned about him than her own well being."

"Please let us do our job Lena." Angela tried to calm her down. "Have your shoulder checked out, I can't waste any time with him." Angela turned her around and pushed her back as she pulled her operating mask over her mouth and entered the operating room.

Lena sat down at one of the patient beds, her mind was filled with nothing but concerning thoughts about Starkiller. They way he collapsed seemingly out of nowhere appearing to be in great pain was a sight she couldn't erase from her mind. Though she really only knew him on a personal level for only so long, she felt connected to him on so many levels, relating to him as well. Though the fact that she was the first person she had been intimate with in such a long time was a huge factor as well.

"This may sting a bit so try not to move too much." The doctor said to her. She didn't acknowledge him as she continued to stare off into space. Though the pain in her shoulder was starting to take over as the adrenaline from the battle was starting to subside. She was wincing slightly as the doctor started to peel back the bandages and cleaned out the wound. "Well it appears to be a through and through, so we just need to clean this up." He said as he started wiping away the blood. "Once we get this fixed up you'll have limited mobility from your shoulder." Still nothing. The doctor continued his cleaning before starting to stitch up the wound.

McCree entered looking around before seeing Lena, catching her attention. McCree turned a chair around sitting next to Lena's bed. "Any updates?" He asked. Lena just shook her head. McCree grunted at her response rocking back and fourth in his chair a little. "How you holding up? Looks like a nasty scratch there." Lena shrugged her shoulders just as a reaction but regretted instantly grunting in pain grasping at her shoulder.

"I told you don't move." The doctor said finishing up as he clipped the end of the stitches and got a sling for her arm. "This should help immobilize your arm." Lena nodded her head slightly examining her sling.

"This the first time you've been shot without doing your little rewind thing?" McCree asked. He knew Lena's mind was occupied on Star, but getting her to talk might alleviate some of the concerning thoughts for a bit. Lena nodded her head. Her stare signaled she was a million miles away in her mind. "Why couldn't you do your uh, redo thing?" He asked.

"Was reckless," She said in a short tone. "Only have so much juice in this thing." She said tapping on her accelerator. "I thought I could get him. I did get him." She started to sound like she was replaying the events of the mission out loud. "How was he still alive?" She asked. McCree wasn't sure if she was actually asking him or just thinking out loud. "Jesse I stuck a bomb to him. I watched it detonate in his face. Just how." She was shaking her head. McCree got up and sat next to her on the edge of the bed.

"Look, you haven't really dealt with anything like this before. Moira's work speaks for itself. Reyes and whoever that other guy was, they aren't human, not anymore at least. Same thing goes for him in there."

"I was reckless though, he had to come back for me. If I had been more aware we could have gotten out sooner and maybe he wouldn't be on the brink of death."

"Ah you can't beat yourself over what ifs. Ain't healthy for the mind." He rustled her hair a little. Lena smirked a little bit from the gesture. "Hate to say it, but his time might be close approaching anyway. He ain't exactly built to last from what it seems."

"He survived for a reason!" Lena shot back at him. "He can pull through, he's got to. I'm not going anywhere until I know Star is ok." McCree tilted his hat up cracking a smile across his face getting up from the bed.

"Geez Lena you're awfully clingy to that boy."

"Is there something wrong with making sure someone is ok?" She barked at him sounding defensive.

"Course not, but as concerned as you are one might think y'all are gettin it on or somethin." Lena knew he was joking but she couldn't help but take it a little personal.

"Relax, I was just foolin."

Lena started shaking her head. "Sorry, I'm just a little shaken up right now is all." Lena finally relaxed a bit laying back in the bed she was sitting in. "He didn't deserve this."

"No, no he didn't. But can't change the past, time marches on." McCree tapped her leg. "I'll check up on you later, keep me posted." Lena gave him a little smile and sat up looking at the emergency doors, hoping Angela would come through the doors with something good, anything good. She was getting anxious beyond all control. She tried keeping herself occupied but found any sort of noise she heard on the other side of those emergency door drawing her attention back to them.

Hours had passed without her even realizing it before the doors swung open. Winston had walked in almost startled that Lena was there.

"Oh, hi Lena. I wasn't expecting you here. Didn't you get fixed up a while ago?"

She nodded turning her eyes back to the emergency doors."Been waiting on any kind of update. Why are you here?"

"Angela requested my assistance. I think she may almost be done in there, though I'm unsure why she would need me." As soon Angela and the other surgeons pushed through the emergency doors wheeling Stars bed to its place next to Angela's computer. She motioned for Winston to come over to the monitor as she plugged in what appeared to be the drive that all of Moira's research.

Lena got out of her bed and walked over to Star's bed to get a better view. He was still unconscious and was hooked up to a bunch of I.V.'s. He had a breathing tube coming out of his mouth, and Lena thought the worst. She covered her mouth in shock, she couldn't believe his condition had escalated this much. She wasn't really paying much attention to what Angela and Winston were talking about. She pulled up a chair sitting next to his bed taking a hold of his hand hoping so desperately he would squeeze her hand back.

"I see." Winston said looking at the monitor.

"It's really a pretty ingenious system she has created." Winston looked at Angela after she made what sounded like a compliment to Moira's work. "Medically speaking of course."

"So we just need to correct the balance in his system and he should be fine. Correct?" Winston asked.

"In theory yes, however we can allow no margin of error. Any could mean permanent damage to organs, his nervous system, anything really."

Lena looked over to the other two as their discussion continued. "What's wrong with him? Whats going on?"

Winston walked over examining the paper Angela had given him. "The biotic amplifiers Moira attached inside him pumps toxins through his body, which grants him his abilities. These toxins are extremely deadly, eroding his body as it travels through his system, to counteract this Moira implemented Angela's nanobot technology to repair and heal his body at the same time." He adjusted his glasses putting the paper down. "When he pushed himself and used his abilities to the extent he did, the toxins were spreading faster than the bots could contain. His body started breaking down thus causing his collapse."

"So is he going to be ok?" She asked?

"He crashed a couple of times during the operation. We had to put him on a ventilator to keep oxygen flowing through his body and his brain." Angela answered.

"That didn't answer my question."

Angela put her clipboard with her chart down. "It's too early to tell. We purged his system of the toxins and started advanced nano treatment, but we can only do it in minuscule amounts. Too much nano treatment and the bots will start to attack the amplifiers, likely killing him." Angela jotted a few more notes before returning to her chair. "It's a fine line we are walking right now, but if I'm completely honest, it's not looking too promising." The silence that fell upon the room was tense. Lena looked back at Star and slumped back in her chair, only hearing the sound of the ventilator pumping air into him.

"He'll make it through." Lena said to herself looking at him. "He'll make it."

Morrison was in his office sipping on some coffee when he heard a knock at the door. "It's open." The door opened as McCree closed the door behind him taking his hat off and setting it down on the corner of the chair he sat in. He placed two glasses on the table and placed a bottle of whiskey between them taking a seat. Morrison looked at him and raised an eyebrow as he observed Jesse pouring some out in each glass. "Something on your mind?"

"What can't enjoy a drink with an old bud? You never come out of this office so figure I bring the bar to you." Jesse chuckled. He raised his glass as he clinked his glass with Morrison's and they both slammed down the first drink. McCree started pouring another round for them.

"Heard it was a rough go out there." Morrison said staring at his glass. McCree nodded his head.

"Ran into Reyes out there." Jesse swirled his glass around. Morrison realized why Jesse was here then.

"You guys always drank after a mission together didn't you?" Jesse elected to stay silent nodding his head. Morrison knew the two were close as Reyes was the only reason why Jesse wasn't locked up in prison. "I wish things had turned out differently, but I had no other choice."

"I know you meant well chief, he fell over the deep end. Just a shame to see a friend fall." Jesse took another drink.

"There was another one of them too."

Morrison looked up at him. "Another one?"

Jesse slammed down another drink gritting his teeth feeling the burn of the whiskey go down. "Star. There was another one."

Morrison nursed his drink a little bit. "Fuckin Moira. Never should of enabled her in Blackwatch."

"Something's been mulling around my mind for a bit now chief." Morrison finished his second drink motioning for Mccree to ask away. "Couple weeks ago when we were questioning Sombra, she said you had a hand in how Moira got her hands on the stolen data." Morrison tapped his glass on the table at the question.

"Yea. What about it." He seemed annoyed but not annoyed enough to keep quiet.

"Care to share that story?" McCree poured out another glass for them.

"When Moira was in Blackwatch I turned a blind eye to a lot of the experiments she ran. She was an 'ends justify the means' kind of scientist. In her field of work that's a slippery slope." He took a swig of his drink. "She came to me about a theory she had about improving our agents performances in the field. Of course in theory in sounded good. Self healing, faster reaction times, perfection in the field." McCree was leaning back in his chair taking small sips of his drink.

"She hadn't failed in anything yet. Though she said the base of her research involved the Enhanced Soldier program and needed the data to work off of, giving her a solid starting point. I knew where she was going with it and I told her I couldn't help her." He tapped the table again shaking his head. "You know the most frustrating thing is not dealing with arrogant people, but the arrogant ones that know their worth. Know they're worth the trouble they may bring." He took another sip of his drink. "She threatened to leave if I didn't support her. One of my visits to the U.S. I copied the data and gave it to her to keep her from leaving Blackwatch." McCree poured another glass out for the two of them.

"Yea, gotta admit she was nuts, but she was good at what she did." McCree got up and started pacing around the room with his drink. "Now I know we don't exactly know how much we should be trusting this kid we got here."

"Who Starkiller?" Morrison asked. "He is Talon, but he hasn't let us down so far."

"Was." McCree said.

"Regardless we have to be careful with him."

"Yea but something ain't adding up chief."

"What's that?"

"Now I'm the last person to put these pieces together, one can't help but think somethings off if Talon is killing their own."

"Antonio probably crossed them and paid for it."

McCree started shaking his head. "If he was a grunt, sure that be peachy. But a high roller like him? And if what the kid said is right, he was a big player." He finished his drink placing the glass on the table. "I don't know chief, something don't feel right about how it went down out there."

Morrison started to think himself. "Not much we can do about it now." McCree picked up his hat and started walking out of the office. "Hey how is the kid doing?" McCree looked back at him and shrugged his shoulders.

"Heard it's getting pretty dicey for him. Maybe you oughta go check yourself. I know you and and a lot of people don't think too highly of him, but he got dealt a pretty shit hand. Boy's been helpin out a lot whether you want to admit or not." Morrison looked at the bottle and tapped his glass on the table again.

"Thanks for the drinks Jesse." McCree tipped his hat before closing the door behind him.

Morrison let out a sigh in annoyance. He had tried to be more accepting of Star, though the more he talked about Moira with Jesse, he couldn't help but feel somewhat responsible for what had become of Star. "God dammit Jesse." He muttered to himself as he put his coat on leaving his office. He walked outside going towards the medical building. As soon as he entered he saw the trio around Star.

"Commander. I wasn't expecting to see you here." Angela said.

"Yea well, heard the mission was pretty hairy." He looked over at Star who was barely clinging to life at this point. "Just came to check in." He saw Lena sitting on the other side of the bed still in her clothing from the mission, dried blood around her shoulder with her arm in a sling. "Oxton."

"Commander."

Morrison knew she never was a woman of few words. So something was really eating at her when she was. "I don't recall having you on this mission."

"I wasn't."

There was a pause between them. Morrison on one side of the bed and Lena on the other. Winston and Angela had taken their work elsewhere, feeling how tense the room was, though Angela still staying relatively close by to monitor her patient.

Lena knew she was in the wrong and wasn't even going to attempt to justify her actions. Though to her surprise, Morrison wasn't there to scold or reprimand her. "What happened out there?" He asked tapping his shoulder.

"Got careless out there, took a round."

"How bad is he?"

Lena took a deep breathe. "Not good, commander. Not good at all."

Morrison was examining Star trying to see if he could pinpoint any wounds or anything of the sorts. "It's the amplifiers, sir. Killing him from the inside. He pushed himself too hard to come back for me."

"Semper fi." Morrison nodded.

"Beg your pardon?" She asked.

"Semper fi, always faithful. No man left behind, however you want to put it. Soldiers talk about it a lot, but a lot fewer would actually do it even if it meant their own demise." He walked around the other side and stood behind Lena. "He's really something isn't he." Lena didn't have anything to say back to that. "Despite his predicament, he did everything he could to make sure everyone came home safe." Lena caught a whiff of his breath after he spoke.

"Sir have you been drinking?"

"Jesse stopped by my office." Lena rolled her eyes.

"That explains it."

"He also told me there was another one like Starkiller here out there." He pulled up a chair and sat down next to her leaning forward. Lena nodded her head.

"He outclassed us all, and I don't think he was even trying." Her muscles tensed up thinking about him. "It was like he was toying with us."

"I'm happy you're all safe." Morrison said to her. He got up and was going back to his office to finish paper work before turning back to Lena. "You've seen quite a bit of action lately, might be time for you to get some R and R."

"Sir?" Lena questioned.

"Go home Lena, recoup. Take some time off, you've earned it." He looked over to Angela trying her best not to listen in on the conversation. "Keep me posted on his condition Angela."

"Will do Jack."

Angela went back to Star's bed to take one more look at his vitals seeing if they had changed at all noticing Lena was struggling to stay awake. She was always was a motherly figure to most of the younger agents, though her dynamic with Lena was something more. They had spent enough time together that Angela knew when to try and get Lena to budge, and when it was a lost cause. This was the ladder. She had a pot of coffee brewing, knowing she had to monitor Star due to his unique workings. She brought a cup over to her placing it on the table next to Lena.

"I know you normally drink tea, but this was all I had laying around."

Lena looked at the mug and smiled at Angela. "Thanks." She took the cup in her good hand taking a small sip cringing a little at the taste.

"I knew you wouldn't be leaving anytime soon." She said taking a sip from her own mug.

"I don't want to leave him." She kept hoping any minute he would just spring up out of bed and wake up. Every minute seeing him there was making her feel even more guilty. "I mean he's out of the worst right?"

"It's tough to say. Like I said we are walking a fine line with him due to all the extra hardware inside of him." Lena sighed a little before Winston called Angela over to her computer.

"Angela, his brain activity is increasing." Angela placed her mug down to examine the screen. Lena leaned over the bed hoping he would wake up. She saw his eyelids squint slightly but stayed shut.

"Come on love pull through, I know you can." She mumbled to herself. His eyes slowly opened his surroundings slowly coming into focus seeing all the tubes he was hooked up to. He panicked thinking he was back at Talon under the knife in Moira's hands.

"Hey relax it's me, you're safe here." Lena called out to him holding his hand. His hand gripped back in desperation before he met Lena's eyes. His eyes fluttered as the relief could be seen easing into him. Angela walked over to him taking her notepad out getting right down to business.

"Can you feel all your extremities?"

"Geez Angela take it easy. He just woke up."

"That's just it Lena, we don't know how long he will be awake for. His body is still unstable. Can you feel your extremities?" Star nodded his head slowly, incapable of talking from the breathing tube in him.

"Do you know where you are?" He looked around seeing the Overwatch logo on practically every piece of equipment. Again he slowly nodded his head. "Do you remember what happened?" He looked at Lena and held his fingers up in succession. "two, two, two." Angela said as he put his fingers up. "Do you know what that means?"

Lena who was trying so hard to hold back her smile at that looked down. "Still keeping score huh?" She smiled big. Star looked like he was trying to smile as he nodded his head. "He remembers."

"Good memory seems to be intact." She placed her notepad down feeling around his chest and shoulders. "Are you in any pain right now." He shook his head no. This response puzzled her. "Interesting." She said going back to her computer screen that was showing a live feed of the progress of the toxins in his body being cleared out by the nanobots. She noticed that most of his organs were only 40% functional, meaning the damage the toxins did were substantial, too substantial to take him off life support. She leaned on her hand trying to think of anything they could do.

"The only way he would have any hope to get him off life support is to inject a higher concentration of nanobots and hope he survives." Angela said shaking her head.

"What? Your leaving his life up to chance? Hoping it will work?" Lena was sounding furious.

"Lena it's a miracle he's lucid right now!" Angela closed her eyes and took a deep breath composing herself. "Without this he'll likely never get off life support, no one should live like this." She prepared an injection with the silver liquid from a vile. She walked over to to Star's bedside, he was visibly becoming uncomfortable. He recognized the liquid being the same from the ones that Moira always gave him after intense training sessions with Reaper. "This will be painful. You'll feel a burning sensation while the nanobots repair your organs. This is the only thing we can do for you." Star closed his eyes and nodded his head. She pricked his arm and injected the liquid inside. As soon as she did Star squinted his eyes shut contracting all of his muscles trying to bear the pain of the burn that was felt spreading throughout his body. Occasionally letting out a grunt every so often. His fists were clenched shut, Lena slipped her hand once again into his, he clung to her thinking the tighter he held her hand would somehow make the pain dissipate. For about twenty more minutes the burning sensation pulsated throughout him before it finally started to subside. His chest was heaving, which Angela took as a good sign that he was breathing on his own.

"Moment of truth." Angela said to herself anticipating the worst was going to happen. His vitals were still stable though to her surprise. Star pulled some of the I.V.s out of his arms and took the breathing tube out of his mouth sitting up shaking slightly from the ordeal that he just went through. Angela watched in amazement, a man on the brink of death minutes ago, was just about fine now. "Amazing." She muttered to herself.

"What is it?" Winston asked looking at the computer screen.

"His body, his organs, they're completely healed and fully functional." The two looked up from the screen over to the man hunched over sitting up on the side of the bed.

"What about the nanobots?" Winston asked. Angela replayed the scans from Star's body examining what happened.

"As expected, the nanobots repaired his organs and cells and proceeded to attack anything foreign inside the body, but when they came close to the amplifiers." She zoomed in seeing that the bots had perfectly circled around them and avoided them. "They just ignored it."

"Peculiar." Winston said rubbing his chin. "Perhaps they emit a tiny magnetic wave to repulse the nanobots?"

Angela walked over to Star placing a hand on his shoulder. "How are you feeling?"

"Been better." He answered, his voice a little raspy from the breathing tube. He got up out of bed his legs shaky still, struggling to support his weight at first. "This isn't the first time I've gone through this. Moira did this all the time whenever Reaper pushed me to my limit. Guess I just overdid it this time." Angela was perplexed.

"Hm, I'll have to study her research more then. In the mean time you should get some rest, and avoid using your powers until I can develop a counter measure for this." Lena helped Star as much as she could with her good arm. The two were outside walking back to Lena's room, when Lena slugged Star in the shoulder as hard as she could.

"You son of a bitch!" She continued to wale on his arm with all her strength out of frustration. "Don't you dare scare me like that again! I thought you were gone, I thought it was all my fault!" Lena's punches were starting to diminish as Star gingerly grabbed her arm and held it down embracing her as she buried her face into his shoulder. "I thought I lost you." She whimpered out. Star just held her close letting her cut loose.

Star wrapped his arm around her as the two continued to walk through the halls and towards her room. It wasn't until they were inside her room that Star finally noticed her attire. "You stayed the whole time?"

"Well I wanted to make sure you were ok." She said sitting down on her couch. Star took her arm out of the sling and helped her out of her armor looking at the stitched up patch on her shoulder.

"That looks like it stung a bit."

"Still does." Lena couldn't help but pick Star's brain about the mission. "Do you know who that was with Reaper?" Star shook his head.

"Could just be another one of me, or Reaper rather." Star let out a little sigh. "A better version."

Lena was still trying to wrap her head around the battle they had.

"How could he have survived." she said to herself. Star smirked before getting up and going to her bathroom. Lena heard the shower water turning on and Star helped her up off the couch and helped her into the bathroom. "What are you doing?" She asked.

"Getting you cleaned up. And helping you relax a bit. For once I think you're the one that needs to take it easy."

"How can you be so calm after what just happened to you? And to all of us? How?" She started demanding answers.

"Well, you're the reason why." Star said offering a little smile

"Me?" She questioned.

"You and I are not all that different in the fact that our time in this world is a little more fragile than others." He tapped her on her accelerator. "And you've shown me that it's not worth the fuss of thinking about what ifs or what could happen, but just enjoy the here and now and the ride we're on."

"But, your amplifiers, they're killing you."

"Am I dead though?" Lena sighed and shook her head. "Someone could clock that thing off of you and you'd be gone, but no one would ever think that about you, because you're so headstrong. I like that about you." She started to blush slightly at the compliment.

Lena was resisting slightly, surprised at his demeanor. "Star you almost just died. How can you be so calm, so I don't know, mellow."

He helped her take her accelerator and clothes off and got her into the shower feeling the embrace of the hot water cascading down her back. He got in behind her and started to massage her shoulders feeling how tense she was. "The only thing that matters to me is you are here with me now, so lets just enjoy the time we have together." Lena closed her eyes enjoying the sensations she was feeling between the water and his hands. His hands wrapped around her front and moved down to her breasts cupping and massaging them as well. Lena moaned a little trying to keep her sounds in check. She bit her lip trying to contain her excitement before one of his hands slid down from her chest, down along her abs, finding his way to her folds where he started to venture around with his fingers.

"Star..I don't..I don't think..this is the...best time." Speaking was becoming increasingly difficult for her as she was indulging into the lust a bit.

"Sorry for scaring you back there." He said in a low tone into her ear as he started to kiss and nibble at her neck. Small moans were escaping her mouth from the teasing she was enduring.

"Commander..wants me to..take some..some leave..ah..I..I think..maybe you should..you should come..with me." She started to grind her hips a little trying to help his fingers hit the right spot.

Star slid is finger inside her wet slit feeling it spasm around him. "You want me to come with you?" Lena let out a sharp gasp leaning back into him more, her legs unable to support herself from the small orgasms she was feeling.

"Bad shoulder you know..ah..would need..need some..help getting..around..and..oh god." She trailed off, grasping her own breast with her good arm completely giving in the ecstasy, bucking her hips jaw slacked open as she let the waves of her orgasm rock her body. She practically collapsed into Star's arms breathing heavily. She raised her arm and wrapped it around Star's neck relaxing against his body. She struggled to say anything still enjoying the euphoric feeling. Star turned her around and picked her up against the wall.

"You were so brave helping me out there, charging in head first to battle." Star was pressing his body against hers gazing into her eyes.

"Star I..ahhh." He cut her off shoving his rock hard member into her folds holding himself up against her feeling her muscles massage him. Her arm instinctively wrapped around his back trying to pull him in as much as she could. She kissed him as she felt him start to slowly thrust into her, her moans being muffled by the kiss. Star broke the embrace first as Lena's mouth still hung open feeling every inch of him moving inside of her. He started increasing his pace, Lena only able to cling on for dear life. She wrapped her legs around him moaning as the pleasure was erupting through her. Star's member started twitching inside of her, she knew he was close. She held him close making him unable to thrust anymore, before feeling him pulsate inside feeling the warmness spread inside of her. Star moaned as he unloaded twitching his hips slightly, Lena still holding on to him.

The two were heaving together, but before Star could pull away he felt Lena refusing to let him back away. "Can you just, hold me." She said in a pleading tone.

Star gave her a peck on the cheek and held her tighter feeling the warm water covering their bodies. "I'll always hold onto you as long as you hold onto me." Lena gave him a big kiss before letting her head rest on his shoulders wishing this moment would never end.


	14. More to Life

Star woke up out of a sound sleep, looking to his side seeing Lena clinging to him still asleep with he head resting on his chest. After their rounds in the shower and thereafter, both were left fairly exhausted. It was the kind of sleep still foreign to him, the kind that feels refreshing. Though staying asleep still seemed to be a problem with him. 3:00 am. The red neon clock next to her bed emitted in his face. Lena shifted slightly bringing her body closer to his, still fast asleep, bringing a rare smile to his face. He laid his head back staring at the ceiling thinking about what Lena had suggested.

 _Go with her back home._ The thought mulled around in his head. A part of him was frightened for what would be in store for him. Outside of Talon and now Overwatch, he had never really had an experience with everyday civilian life. Anytime he was outside a military facility or a medical facility, it was him on a mission tying to accomplish something or kill someone. He didn't know what it would be like to be able to roam free without an objective looming over his head to accomplish. Freedom. True freedom from anything he had experienced so far. Even now he still had to check in with someone of authority in Gibraltar every so often. His smile slowly faded the more he thought about it.

 _What if I can't go with her?_ The only reason he was still here, hell, the only reason he was still alive was laying next to him in bed. His mind was racing now for his time at Overwatch, even when he was held in the detention center, was spent around her. He had never been here without her nearby. He couldn't imagine being without her, and God only knew how long she would be there. He couldn't take it anymore. He gently got out of bed, cautious not to wake Lena up who seemed like she was in a coma at this point. He put on his clothes and sat on the couch rubbing his temples frustrated that he could't relax. He had to do something but what? She was going to be leaving in the morning, whether he could go or not.

"I got to ask." He muttered to himself walking out of the room quietly closing the door behind him. He walked down the hall, making his way towards Morrison's office, praying that he would still be up. When he turned the corner he saw that Morrison's office had light coming out of the bottom of the door. He approached the door gently knocking on the door.

"It's open." Star took a deep breath and opened the door. Morrison looked surprised to see him. "Starkiller. Good to see Angela got you up and about." Star nodded his head still trying to find the words to even ask such a thing, he knew it was a tall order given the circumstances. "Something on your mind?" He asked putting his pen down.

"Sir where exactly do I stand with you guys?" His eyes went a little wide, not exactly how he wanted to phrase the question but it rolled off the tongue when put on the spot. He started to scratch the back of his head. "That's not what I meant, I just-" Morrison started waving his hand trying to get him to stop. He got up out of his chair and motioned for Star to have a seat.

"You've saved a couple of my best agents on more than one occasion, helped find a valuable Talon base, albeit with some cruel means, and have been nothing but cooperative. However that does not absolve you from your past actions." Morrison folded his arms and leaned up against his desk. "The problem is not everybody else here is convinced yet, the restrictions are more or less just to give them peace of mind. You understand don't you?"

"Yea I guess." There was a long pause before Morrison still saw Star not bothering to move from his seat.

"Something else on your mind?"

Star scratched his head again nervous hell. "Would it be too much of an inconvenience if I accompanied Lena going back home? Only to help her around with her bad shoulder and all, and Dr. Ziegler doesn't want me to use my abilities until she can figure out how to, well, fix me. So I wouldn't really be much use around here anyway and-" Morrison put his hand up to stop him from rambling on too much.

"There a reason why you want to leave other than helping Oxton around?"

"As I said, Angela doesn't want me to use my powers for the time being and I feel like I would be in the way otherwise here, not really being able to help out in any way."

Morrison put his hand up over his chin thinking for a bit. "You understand why you are here right?"

Star looked around not sure if this was a trick question or not. "Not exactly I guess."

"You're dangerous. Not only with what your capable of but having a target on your back as well. You being here is to keep the public and you safe alike." Star started to drop his head getting a feeling where Morrison was getting at. "But, I suppose if you don't draw any attention to yourself I doubt there will be any issues."

"You..you think so?"

"Yea I do."

Star tried to hold back his smile failing slightly, "Thank you sir, I do appreciate everything." He started to walk out of his office.

"Oh and Star." He paused turning his head just as he was about to leave. Morrison walked up to him and got up in his face.

"If you even think about crossing us, the slightest movement in the wrong direction, I'm shooting to kill." He stuck his hand out waiting for Star to grab it. Star was hesitant at the tone shift Morrison gave him but he shook his hand anyway. "Keep a sharp eye out there."

"Will do sir."

He went back to Lena's room and crawled back into bed, though he wasn't going to be able to sleep. Lena was still asleep, but as soon as he got close to her, she wrapped her arm around him and pulled herself closer to him. Star sighed in relief, the feeling of her holding onto him always hit him with a fluid of emotions. He closed his eyes, though not to sleep, just finally relaxing in the arms of the one person in the world who had the capability making him feel so calm.

Suddenly Lena's alarm went off startling him awake. He didn't even realize he was tired enough to fall back asleep. Lena slowly reached over his body to turn off the buzzing clock before snuggling into Star again.

"How did you sleep?" She asked while keeping her eyes closed. "I don't think I've ever slept so well before."

"As well as I can." He slowly got up out of bed earning a slight whine from Lena making her move as well.

"Morrison gave me the green light to go with you to your home, though he still seemed hesitant. I think he was trying to be friendly though, well, as friendly as he can be."

"Oh lovely! I can't wait to show you around." She said with an exciting grin. The news put a bit of pep in her step. "Come on love, we gotta get packing, still hurting you know?" She joked waving her arm around. Star helped pack her things as she directed him. "This is going to be so much fun!" She couldn't contain her excitement.

Still though, Star couldn't shake the nerves that were buzzing through his system. The idea of what it meant to live as a person, as oppose to a weapon, shook his foundation. "Lets hurry and catch the earliest shuttle!" He couldn't imagine going through this experience with anyone else though. He chuckled, carrying her suitcases only having his armor in a sac that was on his back along with his sword. He didn't have much to his name still, even hardly a name. As the two were going to hangar, Angela caught them on the way out.

"Star you're going too?" She asked.

"Just looking out for her, good way of avoiding using my powers too not being here." Star tried to joke, but Angela still had a serious demeanor.

"Here take this with you." It was a pill bottle containing a concoction she made. "These will counteract your toxins should they ever rise to the extremes they did before, though I would still advise against pushing yourself to that limit. They should do for the time being until I can develop a more permanent solution." He took the pills and placed them in his pocket.

"Thank you doctor."

"Stay out of trouble Lena." Angela said giving her a hug.

"I won't be gone for long Angie."

Angela looked at Star, not with a friendly look. Lena left the two, but when Star tried to follow, Angela grabbed his shoulder stopping him. "We need to talk." She pulled him to the side with some strength that surprised him as he was pushed up against the wall.

"She trusts you. You know that right?" Star nodded his head. "I don't."

Star's face dropped as she said that. "Then why did you save me?"

"Because that's what I do. That's what we do here. Understand?" Star remained still unsure of what she was trying to imply. "You have the chance to prove yourself, don't blow it." Star was becoming agitated at the scolding he was constantly getting.

He shoved Angela's hand off of him and got up in her face inches away. "I would lay my life down for her. I already have practically laid down my life several times for you people here. I get that you guys don't trust me and you're waiting for me to slip up. You're going to be waiting a while if that's the case." He readjusted the bag on his back before turning to leave. "I won't squander this opportunity I've been given here, I promise you that." He finally left to go catch up with Lena. The two boarded the shuttle setting their things down and taking their seats. When the shuttle took off Star took notice of the guards that were with them on the flight, though decided not to say anything about them to Lena. She seemed too excited to bring up anything of the sorts, he didn't want to ruin her mood. Star remained relatively quiet through the flight taking in the scenery. During his mission flights he was always preoccupied with going over mission objectives, studying files. He never watched the clouds go by while flying over the seas, watching the tide from the window. It was mellow, but at the same time he couldn't help but feel like he should be doing something. He took a deep sigh, _This is going to take some getting use to._ He thought to himself.

"Hey you ok?" She placed a hand on his leg. "You seem like your a million miles away."

"This way of life may be a little tougher to get use to." He smirked slightly, though he still looked like he was a ways away. The words of both Morrison and Angela lingering in the back of his mind. Who knew taking a break from fighting would have more pressure than being out on the battlefield.

"I know exactly where our first stop is going to be." She said sitting back in her seat. Star shook his head a little gazing out the window. He saw that they were over land again, figuring they must be close. The shuttle hit a little turbulence before landing. The two got out of their seat as the guards opened the door for them.

"Enjoy your stay agent Oxton." She smiled back at them. They ignored Star, though it didn't really phase him at all, he was use to flying under the radar. As soon as they got outside Lena took a deep breath and threw her arms up in the air.

"Home sweet home." Star took in the area, stopping and observing it. He hadn't been here since his last mission with Talon. The two exited the landing pad as Lena waved down a cab, which took the duo to Lena's apartment complex. As the two entered, the doorman greeted Lena as always. As soon as Lena got to her room, Star placed her bags down as Lena changed into her normal street clothes. By the time they got settled back into her apartment it was around two in the afternoon. Lena was still full of energy wanting to get right to it. "I don't want to waste anytime. Come on lets go." Lena dragged him out just as soon as they got changed. The two walked down the street where they entered the local pub.

"A bar?" Star questioned looking around. "All this excitement for a bar?"

"Not just any bar." Lena looked and saw her favorite bartender behind the counter. "Emily!"

"Lena!" The two sprinted towards each other giving each other a huge hug. "When did you get back in town?"

"Just flew in today."

"That's great. Come on sit down let me get you a drink." The two sat down at the bar as Emily poured her a drink seeing Star sitting next to Lena. "Who's your friend?"

"An associate at work." Lena said sipping on the scotch.

Star slowly turned and looked at Lena. "An associate?" .

Emily smirked and handed him a drink as well. "The associate introduction. Been there." She said trying to hold back a laugh. Star looked at the drink before taking a huge gulp. He shook his head coughing feeling the burn in his throat. Lena practically fell out of her seat laughing.

"You don't drink scotch love, you sip it." Star shook his head again trying to stomach the burn.

"Well Lena does your _associate_ have a name."

Lena was already feeling the scotch hit her a little bit and was already getting silly. "Starkiller." She said gesturing her hands in air quotes to emphasize the importance in a joking way.

"Starkiller huh?" She asked cleaning some glasses. Star slowly nodded his head. "Pretty unique name there."

"That's one way of putting it." Star took another sip of his drink. Lena and Emily were doing all the talking, while Star stayed quiet, sipping on his drink trying not to draw any attention. He looked around observing the bar and the patrons around. It had a small town feel to it, everybody seemed friendly and looked like they were having a good time. Hard to tell if it was from the alcohol or if everyone was that genuinely friendly. It was a pleasant change to the polarizing reactions he still drew from the agents at Gibraltar. _Maybe this is what life is really like._ He thought to himself.

"Gotta use the bathroom quick, be right back." Lena ran off leaving Star alone. Star placed his elbow on the counter propping up his head with his hand as he swirled his glass around.

"So whats your story?" Emily asked.

Star lifted his head up at Emily before dropping it back down. "What makes you think I have a story?"

"Well for one, your name is 'Starkiller'", She said putting air quotes. "And two your with Lena, she's always had an eye for the unique kind. Not to mention the fact that you look like you've been through a war." She gestured to the couple of scars on his face and arms. "I've got an eye for people who have a story to tell, believe me they all have the same look you've got, so lets hear it."

Star smirked with a little scuff, "You wouldn't believe me if I told you." He took another sip of his drink.

"Try me." She placed her elbows on the counter expecting a long tale.

Star looked at her before putting his drink down, "Ok. Let's see, I was an assassin made by a geneticist named Moira in a lab from the D.N.A of a madman known as Reaper which gives me the ability to do all this fancy shit. I was the only one out of hundreds of clones to survive and, this is my favorite part, this all happened about three years ago." He picked back up his drink and took another sip. Emily's eye went wide pausing for a moment before bursting out laughing uncontrollably. Not exactly the response Star was expecting. "What's so funny?" He asked.

"Only Lena could find someone like you. And I mean that in a good way. She has a knack for falling for the unique ones."

"A unique clone?" He scuffed. "That's a bit of an oxymoron don't you think?"

"But if you're the only one that survived, that's got to count for something doesn't it?"

"I suppose. Sometimes I wonder if I'm worth all the trouble I bring." Star wasn't sure why he just said that to a complete stranger really. The alcohol must be catching up with him. Emily shook her head.

"That's no way to think." She poured a shot for her and Star. "I think you just need to come out of that shell you're keeping yourself in."

"You only just met me, you don't know anything."

"I've seen enough of your kind coming through the bar, full of sorrow and all that. Trust me dwelling on the past does nothing but feeds those inner demons." She pushed the shot glass to him and held hers up waiting for him to cheer with her. He finally rose his to hers. "To what life will bring." She said taking her drink. Star obliged her toast by taking his shot as well. Lena came back to her seat just as the two finished their drinks.

"What I miss?" she asked.

"Nothing worth discussing." Star said. Emily frowned at the comment before an idea popped in her head.

"Hey Lena there's an art show happening tonight featuring some of my paintings, you two should stop by."

"A bartender and an artist?" Star asked.

"One pays the bills, until the other can." Emily joked.

"Oh Em you know I hate those things."

"I don't know Lena, you may be surprised, I think you and your friend here may appreciate some of my work." Lena didn't seem convinced to go. "Oh at the very least just come for a bit and say hey, after all I need at least one person there who is fun." Lena looked at Star who was enjoying his next drink.

"Your call, I'm just here for the ride."

"Fine we'll come."

"Great, by the way it's a pretty formal event, so dress up you two." She walked over to the other end of the bar to serve some of the others.

"Lena I'm not sure if your aware of this, but these are really the only clothes I have." Lena finished her drink leaving some money on the counter before getting up.

"There's a place not too far from here. They've made outfits for me before incorporating my chronal device. We'll be fine." She tugged him along as the two went out of the bar. They walked down the street going to the tailor, Star having his hands in his pocket observing the sites. Lena was talking on and on about something, though he wasn't paying her much attention. The buildings were tall and the air was crisp compared to what he was use to. Then a site caught his eye forcing him to stop. He crossed the street to the center where the statue of an omnic was. Star felt his heart drop to the pit of his stomach. He stood looking up at the statue. He looked at the dedication that was on the base of the statue.

 **In honor of Tekhartha Mondatta.**

"Good bloke he was." A person passing by stopped and admired the statue as well. Star ignored him not saying anything back. "Stood for peace in this ugly world, and some bastard took his life away. Little shit probably doesn't even know how broken he left the world by killing him. Hope that fucker got whats coming to em." The person went about his business continuing down the street.

"He does." Star said to himself. He thought coming with Lena to London would make things easier on him, but after the lingering words of Angela and Morrison reminding him of where he came from, the statue of one of his kills was just the icing on the cake.

"Star!" Lena ran up to him tugging on his arm trying to get him to walk. "Come on we got to hurry if we don't...we.." her words diminished as they came out, noticing what he was looking at. They both stood there silently observing the statue of the omnic that brought them together, the same omnic that made their paths cross. "I almost forgot this was where..well you know." Star placed his hand on the plaque where the omnic's name was. He clenched his fists, looking like he was about to erupt in frustration. Lena leaned close and took a hold of his hand, prying his fist open slightly. She tugged on him more finally getting him to budge as the two went inside the tailor shop. Lena made more small talk with the owner of the shop but it was all white noise to Star. He looked around before one of the workers tapped him on his shoulder. Startled slightly, Star turned and jumped back.

"Sorry to scare you mate, gotta do your measurements. Arms out." Star obliged still staying silent, the night of his first battle and first encounter with Lena infiltrating his mind. He though he was past all of his wrongs that he had committed when he was with Talon. But seeing the statue, that omnic that was just another name on his hit list that he blindly followed stirred up some unrelenting anger. The thoughts of it infuriated him. "Ok, wait right here, I think I have something in your size already." Still looking like he was on autopilot, he stood looking at the mirror. _I'll never escape what they made, what she made. It's what they made me to be, why I was created. I'm just a killer. Nothing more, nothing less._

The thoughts invaded his mind before the tailor came back out to him, "Here try this on and see if it needs any fine tuning." He placed each part of the suit on with ease. He caught the look of the tailor as the full arrangement came together. "Perfect fit. You clean up pretty nice there young man." Those words cut deep. Reminiscent of what the same thing the hacker said to him on his last mission. He shot the tailor a look making him back away. "Just let me know if you need anything else."

Lena came out of the changing room in a sharp red dress. Her shoulders were exposed and the dress definitely showed off her figure but was loose on the bottom, flowing around as she walked around having an elegant flow to her. She noticed Star who was still staring at his reflection looking like he was on the verge of a breakdown. She walked over to him and stood next to him.

"You look absolutely lovely." She said.

"I can't do this Lena." He said. Lena felt her heart sink as she saw Star have a defeated look in his eyes.

"Do what?" She asked.

"This. Be normal, live normally. I can't do it. I don't belong here." He was starting to breathe heavy, Lena grabbed his shoulders and spun him to face her.

"Look at me." She locked eyes with him and stared deeply into him. "You can do this. You'll be just fine." She brought his head down to touch hers. "Believe in yourself as much as I do." Her words pierced his ears slightly higher than a whisper.

"What if I can't?" He whispered back.

"Remember that day on the beach, remember what I told you?" She felt him slowly nod his head. "You'll always have a place in my heart." The words hit him like a sensation of relief. He gathered himself and took a deep breath, finally noticing how lovely she looked in her dress.

"You look beautiful." Lena blushed slightly and smiled.

"Is there anything else I can do for you two?" The tailor asked

"No I think we'll be alright." Lena said still looking at Star as if she was telling him the same thing. The two changed back out of the outfits, Lena forwarding payment order's through Overwatch.

"They'll cover this for you?" He asked. The two walked back down the street having some time to kill before the event started.

"They cover most of the costs for every agent. It's how I can afford my place here." Lena smiled back at him.

Sitting in her apartment, the thoughts invading Star's mind were still prevalent and it was very apparent by his expression. Lena turned on the T.V. which was the only noise filling the room at the moment.

 _The United Nations will be holding a memorial for Morris Clayborne who was found murdered in his office a few weeks ago. Representatives from other nations will gather at his funeral to honor the memory of the tenured_ _member._

Star closed his eyes and grit his teeth hearing the mention of the man killed from his final mission. "Can I ask you something?" Star asked looking out her window.

"Anything."

"How did you know I was capable of anything but what I was designed to do?" He raised his arm leaning against it on the window still gazing. "I killed an Overwatch member, I killed that omnic, and I had a hand in that representative dying, how do you maintain this image through all of that that I'm anything but a killer?"

"Seeing that statue is bringing back some memories huh?" She said sitting on the couch.

"One of many reminders I've been given today."

"I knew you were better, I know it sounds weird but, through our fight you weren't trying to kill me. Just trying to get me out of the way, Talon agents didn't have concern for any lives that got in their way, so I knew you weren't like them."

"I still killed him though."

"But you didn't kill me."

Star took a heavy sigh, "In a way you can thank Liao for that. If it wasn't for him or your association with Overwatch I probably would have." Lena turned the T.V. off walking over to him as he continued to stare out the window.

"What happened that night?" She asked.

"I don't know how to describe it but it was if he was expecting to die that night." Star started pacing around the room. "He expected me there, he tossed me his own gun to do it. It was like he somehow knew this was how it was going to play out." Lena watched as his pacing seemed to reflect how his mind had been trying to cope with the changes in his surroundings. "I only knew my orders and how to execute them. I never asked why, I never thought of what the end goal of Talon was until he said something. He questioned my allegiance to Talon, like he knew I wasn't really all in for them." He finally stopped and sat down. "He told me to take my helmet off and look him in the eyes when I did it. To look him dead in his eyes, the moment I pulled the trigger and ended his life." Star paused for a moment thinking of the events of that night. "He was the first one that earned my respect. He talked to me like I was a person, asking why I'm doing what I'm doing." He was still and quiet for a while.

"So why did you still kill him?" She asked.

"That's the thing, its like he knew he was going to die. Like he wasn't trying to talk me out of it or anything, he just.." he was looking up struggling to find the words. "Like he knew dying was the catalyst for setting me on this path. He knew he had to die for all this to happen." He dropped his arms and slumped back. "I know it sounds far fetched, but I can't help but.."

"I get it, sometimes I feel the same way about this thing." She said pointing to her device. "Like in a strange way like it was meant to be."

"I'm responsible for so many deaths, I don't think anything I do will cleanse this feeling." Lena hated seeing him like this, but caught a glimpse of what time it was.

"Come on we should get ready." She tapped him on his leg getting up from the couch and proceeded to change into her dress. Though as they were getting ready for the event, Star seemed like he was gathering himself a bit more. The two were made their way to where the art showing was happening, Star still walking with his hands in his pocket.

"Here. Have your arm out like this." She took his arm out of his pocket as she hooked her own in his. "It's more proper this way when we enter." Star just went along with it. "Just because I don't like these things, doesn't mean I know how they work." Naturally when the two entered, Lena drew all the attention from everyone. Some holding their excitement better than others, _Look Tracer is here!_ was the typical response, all of which didn't even acknowledge him on her arm. As she talked to some of the others Star wondered off on his own observing some of the paintings that were on display. He stopped and observed one that stood out to him. A painting of a tunnel with a light casting around a shadow figure standing in the way. Fitting this would be what caught his attention given what he and Lena were discussing before this. Emily was discussing another painting with a potential buyer before she saw Star looking at one of her works. She excused herself and walked over standing next to him.

"You like it?" Emily said observing the same painting. "This one is one of my favorites. Took me a while to find the right blend making the dark to light transition seamless, but I like the way it turned out." She said appreciating her work. She saw Star still in a trance, studying it closely.

"It also shows despair." Star said.

"How so?" She questioned. Though she wasn't disagreeing, but simply curious on what he saw.

"You can't see details in the persons figure, anyone else would simply see another man without the details of his life. He is also standing still, meaning he hasn't made that final steps into the light. The shadow appears stretched, like it is pulling him from the light keeping him in the dark. His shadow represents the burdens from his past, making it difficult to move forward." Emily was amazed on this deep interpretation. "I..he's struggling to enter the light, knowing that shadow will always be with him, no matter how far into the light he goes." Emily nodded her head and started to smile a little

"I guess I never saw it that way, but that's the beauty of art." Star looked at her puzzled. "Even if it wasn't the intention of the artist, perception is unique to everyone, what I see could be completely different from what you see. Doesn't make either of us wrong or right." Both turned their attention back to the painting. "Life experiences have a way of curving our perception of the world. One obvious view is not always the only one apparent."

Lena caught up to the two standing between them. "Your friend here has a pretty good eye for art." Emily noted to Lena.

"You never struck me as the artsy type." Lena said. Star shrugged his shoulders. "Not surprising, Emily's work has the ability to bring that out in everyone, shes unique like that." Star's brow furrowed as he glanced over to Emily after Lena's comment. Emily didn't say anything but noticed him looking at her. She gave him a little sly wink, when it finally clicked in his mind. _Unique ones, right._ He thought to himself.

"I got to make my rounds around here, but thanks for coming you two. I'll catch up with you later. Oh and Starkiller." He turned his head and looked. "The light isn't as intimidating once your in it, just looks it when you've been in the dark for so long."

Star smiled slightly at the comment. "I'll keep that in mind Emily, thank you." Lena tucked her arm in his finally having a moment with him from talking with everyone in the room it seemed like.

"You two seem to be getting along."

"She's a little more insightful than she leads on to be."

"Yea she's a smart one, she always had a passion for art, and she was always so talented." Lena said admiring the painting Star just deciphered.

"Why didn't it work between you two?" Star asked. He almost felt Lena slump a little next to him after he asked her.

"It..became too complicated."

"Overwatch?" He asked.

"Was always away for a long time and home for a short time, long distance relationships tends to put stress on everyone. She wanted me to quit, but she never asked me to."

"Knew you couldn't give it up huh?"

"Like I said, shes a smart one. It wasn't fair to her either. Constantly waiting for me and hoping I'm alright and all. It was a mutual understanding that it would be best if we were just friends." Star still looked at the painting noting what Lena just said.

 _Everyone has their own shadows holding them back,_ He thought to himself.

"I think we stayed long enough, we should get going." Lena said, though she seemed to be a little sour about talking about her past relationship.

"I didn't mean to open an old wound, I was just curious."

"It's fine, I never liked these things anyway. Formal wear always makes me uncomfortable."

"I don't know Lena, you look pretty damn good in that dress." Lena smiled and punched his shoulder lightly. The two made their exit walking along the street lit sidewalk. Lena pulled herself closer to Star leaning into his arm. He gazed into the night sky, realizing this was the first time he could ever really appreciate how beautiful the star lit sky was. He took a deep breath, closing his eyes and allowing his senses to wonder freely. The sounds of cars passing by filled his ears, the smell of the emissions filling his nose, and the feeling of Lena around his arm all hit him at once. A smile started to spread across his face as they entered Lena's apartment. Lena hung her chronal accelerator on the home port and went to take a shower, leaving Star alone for the time being. He changed out of his suit, putting on a t-shirt and some shorts and climbing into bed. He laid down staring up at the ceiling thinking about what Emily said to him. It was strange to him, but he started to get the feeling that was the only reason why she asked for them to come out was for him to see that painting. It seemed like a far fetched idea but Star couldn't deny that her words to ease him a bit, and possibly seeing himself in the painting put perspective on why he was struggling to cope with his past. He heard the shower water cut off as Lena came out of the bathroom in her tank top and shorts. She crawled into bed next to him.

"So how would you say your first day in London went?" She asked getting comfortable and already dosing off into a slumber.

Star felt a tear well up in his eye as an odd sensation started to fill his body. He was happy. Not hindered by an operative in Gibraltar checking up on him, not hindered by the looming threat of an attack from Talon, but reeling in what this life had to offer him. "Pretty good." He said under his breath noticing she was already fast asleep. "Today was a pretty good day."


	15. Who Holds the Pen

"We need to discuss our state of affairs as of late Moira." Akande said as Moira seemed preoccupied with running more tests on something she had not disclosed to anyone as of yet. Though since she had forced her way into the sole leader of Talon, nobody had the courage to step up and question her motivations and leadership, in fear of ending up like Max.

"The others are starting to wonder about the direction we are headed." Akande finished.

"Is that so?" She said, the sarcasm in her voice and the fact that her attention was still focused on her experiment, was evident she wasn't phased by anything she was hearing. This was new to Akande. He was not use to being treated like a second fiddle, he was the one calling the shots most of the time.

"Moira." Akande said in a stern voice becoming impatient. She finally looked at him out of the corner of her eye still not giving him her full attention. "Between killing Maximilien out of dominance and Antonio for, well leaving abruptly, you have successfully cut off our major sources of funds and income." He said folding his arms. "We won't be able to sustain ourselves for much longer."

Moira placed her notepad and pen down and picked up a vial filled with a solid blue liquid inside examining it. She still wasn't giving the attention Akande was looking for. "Money isn't everything you know."

"Will you put your pride aside for a minute!" Akande slammed his fist down earning an annoyed look in Moira's eye. "You severed some commendable ties with killing those two."

"It was for the better." Moira placed the vial of liquid down and finally giving Akande her full attention. "Those two were making us too complacent, failing to push us to our full potential." She motioned for him to follow her. "True, our numbers are spread thin. But I think our fortunes will change." Akande grunted in displeasure at her response. "You act like I'm doing this all on a whim. I understand our situation. And I have a plan in mind."

"Then why continue to alienate ourselves further? You preach about no longer working in the shadows, yet you are forcing us to do that out of desperation at this point." Moira continued as if she was ignoring his complaints seeing the two that returned from Venice. As Akande continued she cut him off welcoming the two back from their previous mission.

"Good work out there." She said to Reaper and Dawn giving them a nod of approval. Though her brow furrowed seeing who Reaper was carrying back.

Dawn didn't react to Moira's words as Reaper grunted tossing Sombra at her, still handcuffed. "We had an unexpected guest with us." He scowled. Moira looked down cocking her head to the side.

"And here I thought you were dead."

"Oh come on doc. You should know me better than that." Sombra smirked back.

"She poses a problem though." Reaper motioned to Dawn. Moira's brow furrowed looking back at Reaper. "Tell her." Reaper kicked Sombra egging her on.

"I may or may not have told Overwatch about your little lab in Brazil." Moira folded her arms looking very displeased at the revelation.

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes pinching the bridge of her nose. "How much do they know?"

"Tough to say, sounded like they have just about everything though. Not to worry, I think they lack the understanding to do anything useful with it." Sombra said picking herself up to her feet.

"It's Angela. As much as I dislike her, she is a brilliant doctor, if anyone could figure out something from my research, it would be her." Moira started to think of the implications of Dr. Zeigler possessing her research. _I'll have to move my plans ahead of schedule._ She thought to herself.

"Your mutt was with them as well." Reaper said folding his arms. "You're new toy here couldn't finish the job either."

Moira raised her hand to her chin appearing to be deep in thought. _Perhaps I was too quick to judge him._ She broke out of her thought and gazed down at Sombra. "Give me one good reason why I should't kill you right here." Moira said as the biotic fluids started to flow through her tubes attached to her back.

"Do I really need to say?" Sombra said in her cocky tone. "You and I both know the power information and knowledge holds. And my capabilities rival none."

"You failed to complete your task, from the sound of things." Moira said as she took folded her arms behind her back. Sombra was visibly uncomfortable of this being pointed out in front of everyone. "Failure won't be tolerated." She circled around her and unbound her from her cuff. "But I do still see some use for you." She motioned for Akande, Dawn, and Reaper to follow her. "We require a new base of operations, since someone has pointed out that we can no longer sustain ourselves here." She said looking at Akande.

"What are you suggesting?" Reaper asked.

"I'm merely suggesting that we find somewhere to settle in, somewhere that would be able to support our needs, and more importantly my desires."

"Thanks to you we have no where else to set up, the Vishkar corporation heard about your little coup, and has effectively severed all deals communications. That would be the only place able to support your needs." Akande said folding his arms.

"That we associate with." Moira added waving her finger around. "I think it's time to broaden our inclusion, don't you?" Akande shook his head as he was still not convinced of her goals.

"Where are we going?" Akande asked. The five approached the hangar of their base, Moira snapped her fingers to which one of the mechanics that was working on the shuttle scampered to his feet.

"Russia." Was all she said before boarding along with the other four. The mechanic practically falling over himself got inside and started the shuttle up. Reaper and Dawn sat down while Akande chose to stand for the time being. Sombra fiddled with her holopad swiping through screens keeping busy as usual.

"What are you planning to find in Russia?" Akande questioned.

Moira was fiddling with a biotic orb in her hand. She grew a smirk before answering his question. "Additions to our cause. Ms. Volskaya has agreed to meet with us."

"How did you manage that? She wouldn't want to have anything to do with us after the war."

"My friend their lack of recovery from the war is precisely why they would be willing to hear us out." Moira seemed like she knew it all at this point. "Russia is desperate to reclaim their power in the world, we'll get to see how far they are willing to go." She made the orb dissipate as she was talking. "Overwatch has little presence there as well, it will be perfectly secluded from them to avoid distractions."

Akande was growing more and more impatient for the lack of disclosure Moira was providing him. Though he he use to be one of the prominent leaders, now being reduced to Moira's lackey was degrading in his eye.

"Stop looking at me." Reaper barked at Dawn. He had a distinct hatred for all of Moira's creations, though this one and Starkiller had been even more bothersome than the others.

"You lack mobility and therefor are easily countered by long range and mobile fighters. You pose little threat in an open field." Dawn said back to him. His tone was mono and emotionless, seemingly like he was always analyzing his opponents and now allies.

"I don't see a lot of distance between you and me right now so bite your tongue before I rip it out of your mouth."

"Enough!" Moira yelled. Silencing everyone instantly. "He is programmed to analyze, its not his fault he can point out your weakness." Reaper grunted and folded his arms.

"Well it would appear your new toy's _weakness_ is not being able to beat an outdated version of himself." Moira looked at Reaper with a displeased look. "He seemed more than capable of holding Dawn back with relative ease from what I saw."

"Perhaps your _legacy_ is not as great as you anticipated." Akande mocked her turning his attention to the window.

Moira wasn't visibly worried about their predicament or the revelation that Starkiller was working with Overwatch. "How long did you train Starkiller before we gave him assignments?" Moira waited for an answer, but Reaper's reluctance to answer the question signaled Moira was still in the right. "Dawn has not had any formal training yet he has better control. I assure you their next meeting will have a vastly different outcome."Though she would be lying if she denied the fact that Starkiller aiding Overwatch was lingering in the back of her mind. She sat back in her chair contemplating what the implications of that could mean. How much of Talon does he remember? Would he somehow be able to track them down? Does he have the full support of Overwatch? She couldn't deny the resources Overwatch had access to was abundant. And with someone as skillful and deadly as the first creation to fully survive her genetic tampering being backed with an organization such as Overwatch could become problematic. However her attention needed to be elsewhere for the moment.

"Everyone still serves a purpose here. That is why you are living to see what is about to happen." She slowly turned her attention to Akande as she finished her statement. He narrowed his eyes at her.

"You say we are to gain numbers in Russia, how so?" Sombra asked.

"Their technology in weaponry has surpassed any of the power nations, which leaves them vulnerable." Akande and Reaper looked at each other.

"How would superior firepower leave them vulnerable?" Reaper asked

"Overconfidence." Moira got up out of her seat. "No one else will admit it, but they're army outclasses just about everyone else. They think they are invincible from any outside attack since the Omnic Crisis."

"So us five are going to attack Russia and that is suppose to scare them?" Reaper questioned trying to make her plan sound mundane and doomed to fail.

"Not every attack is direct or head on Mr. Reyes." She continued to pace around the shuttle. "Take away a child's toy, and they will beg and do anything to get them back. And that's exactly what we are going to do." She stood in front of all of them as though she was concluding a presentation. "A good laid plan cannot be rushed, so we must be patient and take this process one step at a time. Our end goal won't change here, however keep an open mind to how we achieve it, the path may change frequently."

"How do you plan on taking a nations army?" Akande questioned? Moira simply smiled at him giving him a little wink knowing full well it would test his temper.

"Patience my friend. Patience. We won't be taking them head on." Moira said. "Think of it as systematically dismantling it. Besides, by the time I am done, they will be begging to be allied with us."

As they finished their discussion the pilot announced over the shuttle speakers, "Transmission coming through ma'am." There was some static before a clear Russian voice came in.

"You are flying in restricted air space, turn back or be shot down."

Moira walked to the cockpit pressing the comm button. "We have a meeting with Katya Volskaya." There was a long silent pause before two gunships flew up at either side of the shuttle. "Proceed to docking bay two. We will escort you from there." Moira couldn't contain her smirk as her plans were laying perfectly in place. The shuttle landed and as the doors started to open, Moira gave one last set of instructions. "Abide by their rules unless things go south, which I will signal you."

"What's the signal?" Reaper asked, but Moira didn't answer him as they were met with what seemed like a platoon of soldiers with guns pointed at them as the doors opened.

Moira walked forward holding her hands up. "I reached out to Ms. Volskaya and she agreed to observe a presentation I have for her." The captain of the team examined her and the four that stood behind her. He barked some orders in Russian to most which most of the soldiers returned to their post.

"You four stay. You follow me." He pointed to Moira. Moira held up her hand.

"This one is part of the presentation I promised." She signaled to Dawn. The captain was hesitant before finally giving in leading the way. Akande Sombra, and Reaper were forced to sit and watch as the other two disappeared inside the facility.

"This is getting old." Akande muttered to himself just loud enough for Reaper to hear.

"Glad I'm not the only one." Reaper agreed forced to wait out in the cold.

The captain lead the two down a long hallway before coming upon a huge blast door with two heavily armed guards standing at either side. The captain swiped his card key revealing Katya sitting at her desk with six more armed guards inside.

"Dr. O'Deorain." Katya acknowledged her. "Why did you wish to see me? Volskaya industries does not want to be seen associating with Talon."

"And yet you still agreed to meet with me." Katya stood up from her chair and circled to the front of her desk leaning against it.

"You suggested you had a proposition that I couldn't refuse. It peaked my curiosity."

"Indeed." Moira started to pace around the room, all of the guards and the captain keeping a close eye on her. "You have some impressive mechs here, one would only be so foolish to take a fight to you." Katya folded her arms listening to her. "But machines will only get you so far. Evolution of mankind will be the only way to secure dominance in the world."

"We are not looking to dominate anything, these machines are only for our self defense should the omnics try to attack again."

Moira looked at Dawn and motioned for him to go to the center. "What if something greater than the omnics attacked." Katya looked puzzled, unsure of what Moira was implying. Dawn took his stance in the room and flexed his muscles and clenched his fists as a red aura engulfed his figure. "Evolution, my dear friend, is the only way to ensure survival in this world." Everyone in the room flinched slightly as the red aura flared up in the room.

"What have you done?" Katya asked as she gazed at Dawn, fear was starting erupt throughout her. Dawn subdued his aura at the snap of Moira's fingers.

"I've created a way to jump ahead in evolution."

She closely examined Dawn, the more she looked the more terrified she was becoming. Who knew what he was capable of. "Are there more like him?" She asked.

"At the moment no, but if I was just given a little time to test my theories, run some more experiments, I would be able to create an army of them. Think of it now, your mechs, with my geneticly engineered soldiers, nobody would come close to touching the mighty power that Russia would be wielding."

"A power Russia would wield?" Katya repeated. "Why would you add to Russia's defenses? what's in it for you?"

Moira answered in an oh so innocent tone. "The fact that my research will be the reason why is enough for me. Proving those that called me a fool for pursuing this is satisfaction enough for me."

"So you require funding for your research? You already have a success, why not just replicate that." Katya pointed out.

"Genetic augmentations are not easily replicated. They are complex and can have a completely different outcome even if the process is repeated exactly the same." Moira kept pacing through the room. "That is why I need just a little bit of help in developing a perfected version of this." She placed the vial containing the blue liquid on her desk. Katya observed it as Moira continued. "If I could develop a serum that was universal and could adapt to each person's genetic code, the possibilities would be endless."

Katya was mulling everything over in her mind. "Say I give you what you want, let you use my lab. What will I get in return?"

Moira smiled, "I understand you are not too fond of the omnics that pollute your world. Name your target and it will perish." Katya was intrigued by the offer.

"You understand by doing this you will effectively start a war?"

"Unless we keep the operation a quiet one."

Katya paused to think this over, this decision could affect the very nature of the world state of affairs. Though being a woman seeking power through security, she couldn't deny how much she like the idea of being a prominent power in the world once again. "You will need to prove your worth before I commit to anything as of now. While I have no doubt you will hold your end of the deal, I can't help but fear of the backlash from everyone else in the world." She turned and faced the window. "Russia has been isolated from the world since the crisis. Struggling to return to our former glory with little help from Overwatch."

"We are not fond of Overwatch ourselves, as I'm sure you already know." Katya returned her attention back to Moira.

"How about this, think of us as your under the table team. Anything you want done that won't necessarily be well received in the public eye, you can leave for us to do. In return you will provide me with a lab suitable to my needs in order to hash out any complications for my serum. Deal?" Moira approached Katya sticking out her hand. Katya examined her hesitant looking at her hand.

"No. This isn't how we will return to power. Russia will do so on our terms, not by the likes of a terrorist organization." She said.

"That's a real shame." Moira said walking around the room. "I think you should reconsider before jumping to any conclusions about the new Talon." Katya raised her eyebrow. "Oh yes we recently decided to go in a new direction, one that leads us to help the most fearless nation back on it's feet."

Katya looked at Dawn one more time, "due in no small part to your science experiment I assume."

"Here's how it's going to happen." Moira said. "You will agree to help us and not speak of us to anyone else outside of this building."

Katya began to look at her with an annoyed look. "That sounds less like a partnership and more of a hostile takeover."

"Well you can either agree to my terms, or I'll have Dawn kill everyone here in the blink of an eye."

Katya narrowed her eyes, trying to see if Moira was bluffing. As she looked at the other guards in the room, they didn't seem to be willing to take the risk. "Fine, now what?" Katya asked in an angry tone.

"As far as everyone outside of this room is concerned, this was a mutual agreement, should you tell anyone otherwise," she paused looking around the room, "well lets just say I'll have more test subjects." Katya let out a huge sigh before conceding to her.

"Captain show Dr. O'Deorain and her associates to their station where they can begin their work." Moira grew a devious smile as she followed the captain out of the room with Dawn following behind her.

The other three Talon agents were still waiting outside before one of the guards was listening to some orders through his earpiece.

"You three follow me." The three, surprised, followed the guard inside.

"How did she even manage to get this alliance." Akande complained, he hated to see Moira succeed. He wanted to see her fall on her face even if that meant his own demise at this point. Her cocky attitude was agitating him to no end, hiding behind that abomination she created in Dawn. He would rather die than take orders from her.

"She's even giving me a run for her money with her persuasion." Sombra added. Reaper stayed silent just following the other two. The trio was let in the lab that was being provided to Moira with a view of Moira having her arms extended at either side. The guard left them alone in there as Moira was taking pride in her accomplishment.

"Welcome to our new home." She smiled to them all. "Rooms are being provided to us in exchange for cooperation of sorts."

"What kind?" Akande asked.

"Nothing that we can't handle. However we still will need to keep a low profile outside of this facility." Her gaze focused on Reaper as she said that. "At least for the time being, when the time is right we will make our move."

"And the members at the old base?" Reaper asked.

Moira seemed to dismiss the question. "Let them figure it out, they weren't much help anyway." She clapped her hands together. "This is our first step in reclaiming our dominant presence in the world back. History is written by the victors and today we are taking our first steps towards making history today."

"You're hypocritical side is coming out again. Still not being a prominently self proclaimed powerhouse like when you assumed control. Now instead of keeping in the shadows, we are merely staying in someone else's shadow." Akande started to become visibly frustrated. "You better get what you want and soon Moira. I don't intend on taking orders from everyone around here." Akande stated. Moira snapped her fingers making Dawn teleport in front of him bringing his blades millimeters away from his face.

"You will do what I say, when I say it, for however long I say it. Is. That. Clear? Unless you wish to join the old members of Talon who disagreed with me."

Akande stood clenching his fists. He remained silent, holding back his urge to unleash his fury from his frustrations that have been building since Moira had been calling the shots. He wanted to beat her and her experiment to a pulp. Every fiber of his body was screaming at him to unleash his anger and take back control of what he believed was rightfully his to begin with. But as Dawn's blades inched closer to him, he slowly eased up from his tension before backing down. "Yes Moira, understood."

"Try not to forget how I became the one in charge here, I will soon have an army at my disposal, you all are expendable. Don't forget that the next time you start to feel like being high and mighty." She shifted her attention to the lab and took a deep breath exhaling with a visible smile, wasting no time picking up where she left off with her work on her serum.

* * *

Authors note: Hope you guys are enjoying the story so far, I'm having a blast writing this. So I got a couple of suggestions/ questions about Starkiller's powers (Well 2 but just in case anyone else was curious). If you ever played Mass Effect 3's multiplayer and know the N7 Slayer vanguard, that's essentially what his armor and his skill set is if that makes it easier to comprehend when describing his combat scenes. Though I am adding to his repertoire so that he is a little more diverse and has room to grow (i.e. the biotic shield, barriers and all that). Hope that clears up any confusion.

Enjoy the coming chapters, feel free to ask anything you want as well.


	16. Lingering Thoughts

Star was gasping for air, exhausted and beaten. His face cut and bloodied from the onslaught of attacks he had received. Reaper seemed unscathed so far. What happened to him? He seemed like an unstoppable force all of a sudden. Moira must have done something to him. Reaper approached Star who was struggling to support his weight on his one knee. He looked around at all of the destruction their battle had caused, and the casualties that have come as a result. Fareeha flew over top and prepared to unleash a barrage of rockets on him. The rockets exploded all around him as Star braced himself for the impact of the dust cloud coming his way. She landed next to him trying to help him to Star to his feet, but as the smoke cleared they say Reaper standing unharmed surrounded by a barrier he was projecting. "Get out of here he can't be-" Star was cut off by a blast that was sent through Fareeha's chest, her body collapsed to the ground as her face was in shock. Star tried to do everything he could to stop the bleeding, but she was already gone. Her blood was already spreading on the ground as her eyes were dilated and fixed.

McCree came out of cover unloading his revolver, but shot by shot, Reaper easily blocked them all. "No Jesse! Go! Get out of here!" But it was too late, Reaper teleported behind him and snapped his neck. Star was still struggling to get to his feet. He tried standing but still struggled having to prop himself up against some rubble.

"I'm a little disappointed in you. I thought for sure you would put up a better fight by now, mutt." That name, that tone, it drove Star crazy with anger, but he was still helpless as of now.

Something isn't right, he shouldn't be this strong, he can't be this strong. He had the biotic abilities rivaling that of Star, but refined. Moira did something to him but who knows what. Just as Star was thinking this, Lena came into the fray, observing the fates of McCree and Fareeha. She took her pistols out and charged in. "No Lena get away from him!" Star yelled out. She blinked around Reaper firing her pistols appearing to do little damage to him. Reaper watched as she blinked around him, zipping about like a fly. He got a read on her patter teleporting in her path as he reached out and grabbed the back end of her chronal accelerator stopping her from moving. He started to crush it in his hands leaving Star to plead out. "Stop!" There was an ominous quiet that filled the battlefield after his plead, as the three were holding their positions. Nothing but a light breeze was being heard throughout the battlefield.

Interestingly enough Reaper did just that. Lena was too scared to move completely at the mercy of the shadowy figure. "Please don't. Let her go you can have me." Star pleaded keeping his hands up approaching the two. Reaper pulled Lena close to him, tears were starting to stream down her face in fear of what was about to happen.

"That's just the thing mutt, I want you all. You should be proud, I wouldn't have been able to track your team down if it wasn't for you." As soon as he finished his statement, a loud booming sound echoed through the battlefield, Lena's eyes went wide in shock as Reaper pushed her forward. She staggered about looking down seeing a blood stream run down her clothes from her chest. She looked up at Star once more before falling to her knees, and slammed down on her front.

"No!" Star ran to her turning her over and seeing her gasping to breathe, clawing at Star hoping it would alleviate the suffering. "Hey." He gently said. She couldn't speak, being too in shock. "We're gonna get you you fixed up and everything will be alright." She grasped his hand squeezing as tight as she could but slowly her grip released. "Stay with me!" Star yelled trying his best to cling to her hand compensating for her lack of grip with a tighter hold of his own until her body collapsed in his arms. Star's eyes became a bright purple as he summoned every ounce of energy he had, his aura became overwhelmingly bright. "I'll kill you!" He yelled out charging at Reaper, taking every bit of anger he had out on his foe. He grunted every time Star hit him. He had a strange sensation when he landed every bunch though, like he was getting hit as well. Reaper staggered back still cackling that poisonous chuckle infuriating Star even more. Star drew his sword out, twirling it around before he drove it straight through Reaper's chest twisting it around as the hilt made contact with Reaper's flesh. He let out gasp as if signaling he was defeated. Star took out his sword as Reaper slumped back against the wall. But something was off, Star was starting to feel hurt as well. Reaper's cackle was getting louder and louder. Star looked down and saw he was bleeding himself in the same spot he stabbed Reaper. The laughing kept getting louder and louder. His sword dropped from his hand clanging on the ground. The cackle was deafening at this point. He approached Reaper and started to remove his mask finding the most terrifying image.

Himself. Not just himself, but his face in the form of Reaper's. His flesh fading in and out, bones being exposed and covered as the flesh was in a constant cycle of healing and decaying. His eyes went wide staggering backwards. "No." He said out loud. Those blue eyes, the same scars, laughing maniacally as Star started to become faint from his blood loss, dropping to his knee holding his wound. He fell to the ground looking up at his mirror reflection raising his arm to fire one last blast to finish him off. The flash of the blast whitened his vision before everything went black.

Star woke up sweating profusely breathing heavy as he sat up looking around, he was in Lena's room. He glanced over and saw Lena still fast asleep. He let out a sigh of relief raising his hand to wipe the sweat from his forehead. He got out of bed and went to the bathroom leaning on the sink and splashed some cold water on his face. Nightmares and dreams were fairly common for him, but this, this felt real to him. His reflection in the mirror startled him. The image of him being behind the mask, seeing him laugh. That maniacal laugh was tattooed in his ear, echoing in the back of his mind, forcing a grimace onto his face, flashes of the images of the dead agents scrolling through his head. He tried putting his mind at ease with drinking some water and getting back into bed, but to no success. He tossed and turned trying to get comfortable but just couldn't seem to. 2:00 a.m. Why did he always wake up so early. He finally gave up on getting sleep putting a shirt on and went to the balcony to get some fresh air. He leaned on the railing looking out into the city lighting up the air around him. For a city, it was relatively calm and tranquil. His mind was anything but that at the moment. The crisp night air was refreshing to him, all of his previous rooms were humid, stuffy. Feeling like he was suffocating in a way. The refreshing cool air was a bit freeing to him.

He couldn't figure out what this all meant to him, the dreams were nothing new to him, but seemed to be getting worse and more vivid. Since finding out his origin, he questioned the validity of practically everything, to no ones surprise. He looked up at the night sky gripping the railing in front of him, leaning on it slightly. He tried calming himself taking some deep breaths, but the more he thought about it, the more pissed off he was getting, to the point he could hardly contain his rage.

Why? Why was he getting so infuriated? That cackle, that laugh, the name Reaper constantly called him. Mutt. Even in a dream, it was enough to get him riled up. He closed his eyes tight trying to hold back the rage. He wanted to kill the man that took so much pleasure in making his life hell. No, he wanted to make him suffer. He wanted to make Reaper feel the same pain and agony that was put upon him during the years of experiments Moira put him through. To have that satisfying feeling of having the roles flipped from his time back at Talon, standing over Reaper having complete control over whether he lives or dies. But why Reaper? He hated Moira too, but something about Reaper made his blood boil. Perhaps the fact that he had more face time with Reaper, figuratively speaking of course, during his time under his training. The only time he saw Moira was if he was starting to have another episode like he did on the shuttle back from Venice. Other than the surgical scars, his body was riddled and thoroughly mapped with the markings that resulted from the angel of death. He had a growing desire to return the favor to him, though not entirely possible. The man was immortal, free of the fear of death, perhaps making his amusement watching Star struggle to survive that much more agonizing.

Still though he didn't know why now of all times this was coming to his mind, this was suppose to be a freeing experience. It was to an extent. He and Lena had a relaxing couple of days away from all of the worrying and danger that came with being at Gibraltar, or coming to Overwatch from Talon. As his gaze dropped to the street below him he caught a glimpse of the insignia on his arm. That damn marking, which at this point felt like a shameful brand, a constant reminder of what his true origins are, and what he's capable of, and what his porpose in life was to be.

"Enjoying the view?" Lena asked coming outside to join him.

"I couldn't sleep, and I always have a hard time occupying my time outside of, well, you know. I hope I didn't wake you."

"You weren't there, and I always get worried when you aren't around and..well I just worry about you." She seemed like she was tip toeing around a subject that Star immediately picked up on.

"I won't try it again, if that's what your worried about."

"Try what? I don't know wha-" Star put his hand up to silence her.

"Whether you admit it or not, I know you've been going out of your way to keep an eye on me ever since the day on the beach at Gibraltar. The mission to Venice? Bringing me here?" Star scuffed slightly. "Funny, I told Morrison I was keeping an eye on you but really its the other way around isn't it?" Star didn't look at her keeping his focus on his arm still.

"I'm scared of leaving you alone if I'm being honest. Especially if you were alone at HQ." She stared off into the night lights next to him.

"So all this," he motioned circling his finger "is out of pity?"

"Course not love. People worry about the ones they care about, and I care about you."

Star didn't respond still staring at his arm before returning his attention to the horizon of lights in front of him. Lena let out a fairly loud sigh. "What's wrong?" She asked.

"What makes you think something's wrong?"

"Come on." Lena said nudging him a little. "Ever since we've been here you seem like you're in your own world."

"Just trying to take in the normal life." He said dismissively.

"Hey." She tried getting his attention by grabbing his hand in her own. "Talk to me."

"Just.." He paused not really wanting to disclose the kinds of nightmares that seemed more like visions as of late. "Just some bad dreams." Lena sensed the hesitation in his response but didn't want to push him any. She held his hand tight and leaned on his shoulder.

"When Winston first brought me back from my accident, I had some pretty vivid nightmares myself, some to the point I was scared to go anywhere or do anything, fearing I would get lost in time again." Star debated telling her, maybe talking would help alleviate the burden plaguing his mind. But the more he thought about it maybe not, probably for the best not to freak her out, if it even would. But why take the risk. He elected to stay silent, no one could relate to what was going on in his mind. Everyone had there inner demons, but to Star, his demon was alive and lurking in the real world. He knew she was only trying to comfort him in his obvious turmoil, which he was grateful for. But this wasn't something relatable to anyone. But it was eating at him, each dream appearing to result in the same way. Everyone around him dying because of him.

"What would make you happy?" She asked after she got no response from him.

"I don't know." He responded. The answer seemed more like an involuntary reaction whenever Lena tried to pry into his mind and thoughts.

"If you could have one thing in the world, anything what would it be?" She sounded so innocent, but Star's mind was circling around matters that were anything but. "And I don't mean like with making anyone else happy, what would put a smile on your face at the end of the day?"

"You really want to know?" He asked, pulling his arm away from her and took a tight grip on the railing, his fists starting to clenching trying to hold in the anger but it was becoming increasingly difficult to contain as he started to spill his true thoughts. "I want Reaper, I want Moira, I want all of them to suffer what they put me through. I want to make them hurt the same pain they put me through all that time, all those years. But above all else I want Reaper's head on a plate so I can finally shut him up for good. So I won't have to hear that fucking laugh, or hear him call me that fucking name."

Lena stepped back a little looking at him, her sudden movement drew his attention from the city lights. She had a look that could only be described as disappointment. "An eye for an eye only makes the world blind." She started to sound like the omnic monk preaching, to Star's displeasure.

"What? So I should just let what they did go? Just pretend nothing happened? Lena you know they won't stop." He started walking up to her but Lena was backing away as he approached her. That look of disapproval was bothering Star something fierce. "Stop looking at me like that."

Lena started shaking her head and took a hold of his hands. "We'll stop them, but the way you're talking sounds more like torture. That's not what we do, it's not what stand for." Star pulled his hands back and went back to the railing and leaned over it holding his head in his hands. "You don't want to stoop to their level love, don't be like them."

Be like them? Be like him? the words struck a deep nerve in his system making his inner conflict come to the light. "What did you say?" He turned his head to her before teleporting to her face and pinned her against the wall. "I'm NOTHING like them! Don't you ever compare me to those monsters, to those fucking barbarians. I won't become what they want me to be!" Lena's eyes were pinched shut in fear, but also in agony. Star didn't realize his aura was flaring up as he looked down and saw his hand gripping her arm with a good portion of his might. He pulled his hand back and sat on the ground with his back against the railing. Lena obviously struck a nerve, but she knew he needed to have someone by her side, despite her growing fear of him.

"I never held any resentment to Overwatch after the slipstream incident, and that I was 'gone' for months. I know it's not the same circumstances but-"

"Stop. Just stop Lena. You know as well as I that the situations aren't close to comparison. You wanted to be there, you chose to fly that jet, you knew the risks, as did they. You weren't created from a tube and made for the sole purpose of being their play thing. You weren't strapped down to that cold slab of metal for her experiments, Jesus Lena you saw the vids yourself what Moira was doing to us in there. Gutting us open digging through our insides just to see how far she could push the limits of playing God." As he continued he seemed to stare past Lena into the air, recalling his memories as he spoke of them. He took a deep breath and got back to his feet, turning his back to her looking at the city once more. "So don't get all high and mighty about having high morals when it comes to what they did to me."

"Where is this coming from?" She asked. "I thought we were having a pleasant time the past couple of days. You certainly weren't like this after the night at the art show." Why did she have to be so perceptive? He thought to himself. "Come on talk to me." She said standing next to him, though keeping a bit of distance between them this time.

"You don't understand, not just you, Overwatch, the world, all of you, have no idea what those bastards are capable of. They want something, they'll take it no matter the cost. To beat them you have to abide by the same standards, and that's why they keep getting away with everything thus far." He looked down at his hands forming two energy balls in each one closing his hands and making the energy dissipate into the air. "The only sure way to stop them is to end them, period. Overwatch isn't capable of accomplishing that."

"We're more than capable of stopping them." Lena responded a little annoyed of what Star was implying.

Star just shook his head, "You still don't get it." He turned to her, "Say they nabbed Emily, held her at gunpoint would you do what they say? Ask you to do unquestionably evil deeds to guarantee her safety, would you follow their orders? "

Lena hesitated at the bluntness of the question, "I would have to, I can't let them harm her."

"That's why you aren't capable." Lena's brow furrowed in anger at Star' response.

"So you're telling me you would let Emily die?" Star didn't answer her, which only upset Lena that much more. "What if they had Jesse? Or Lucio?" She asked in a demanding tone. Star didn't answer, he just took a deep breath and dropped his head, which was in a way answering her question. "What if they had me? You would let me die just so you could get what you want?" Still remaining silent Star closed his eyes and waited for Lena to drop it. "You really are what they wanted you to be." Star slowly turned his head towards her at that remark. Lena was covering her mouth, immediately regretting what she let slip out.

"You really need to stop placing me on this pedestal you seem to think I sit on. I'm no hero, as you so eloquently pointed out."

"I'm sorry I didn't mean to-"

"Just leave." His tone was low and slow. Lena dropped her head and left him alone, knowing she messed up bad. Star started to grit his teeth and slammed his fist on the railing in frustration. He knew she was just trying to help, but talking to Lena did make him realize one thing. "I can't let anything get in my way, I will take them down." He said to himself. But as he did, images of his dream came flooding in, crashing into his thoughts. He wanted to take them down, more than anything, or so he thought. More images of Lena's lifeless corpse in his arms over took his mind before he answered Lena's question.

"I wouldn't be able to." He muttered to himself. He hated Reaper and Moira, and everyone at Talon, but his desire to kill them was being overshadowed by his affection for Lena. He was just like everyone else now in his mind, completely at the mercy of the limits of his now established boundaries. He wouldn't be able to live with himself knowing she got hurt in the process of him achieving a selfish revenge.

But why was this making him frustrated? Surely the revelation of him wanting nothing more than to keep her out of harms way would be a redeeming quality to anyone else. And that was it, he wasn't just anyone else. He was suppose to be the perfect killer, created to be the perfect assassin. but perfection was suppose to have no flaws, and that is just what his affection for Lena had given him. A flaw, if exposed, to be fatal for more than just him.

Who knows how many hours passed before Lena got up again, she had dosed off a couple of times, hardly anything long enough to be called sleep. She felt terrible about her exchange with Star. Giving up on trying to battle to gain any more hours of sleep, she decided to start her day early. 6 a.m. early. Going to the kitchen to make a cup of tea, she spotted Star who was sitting in one of the chairs with the T.V. on. He was sitting with his head propped up by his arm on the arm rest appearing to be asleep. A part of her was relieved that he was still here, she had a growing fear that he would've taken off in the night after their talk. She grabbed one of the blankets that was folded up and draped it over his lap and tried to cover as much of his upper body without waking him. As she did, she noticed where his tattoo was, there was fresh scratch marks, which only added to the guilt of her last comment she made to him. _Must have been trying to scratch it off or something._ She thought to herself.

She started to boil a pot of water for her tea, sitting down waiting to listen for the whistle. She kept looking at Star's body slumped to the side in the chair. She was studying him, expecting to somehow figure out what was going on in his head. She saw his face twitch a little making her get up and walk closer to him. She put her hand up to his face caressing it slightly, feeling his weight lean into her hand when she did so. His twitches became more visible, now as he was audibly moaning slightly, sounding like he was in pain.

"NO!" He shouted jolting awake, startling Lena back. His eyes darted around before meeting Lena's eyes. In what seemed like pure instinct, he grabbed Lena and pulled her in to his body on the brink of a breakdown. "Don't leave, please don't ever leave me." He pleaded out as he held her tighter. "I tried I really did!" She wasn't sure if he was still half asleep or not. "Just hold on please." His tone was becoming softer and softer the more he pleaded.

"I won't." She whispered into his ear, seemingly calming him down a little as his hold on her started to become a little more relaxed. The teapot started to whistle an ear piercing pitch that startled him even more making jump out of his seat looking around the room. Whatever trance he was in, the teapot seemed to take him out of it fully. He slumped back in his seat, rubbing his eyes and face. Lena knelt down and wrapped her arms around him as his tears starting to flow down his cheeks and onto her shoulder.

"I'm sorry." He said barely higher than a whisper. Lena stroked his head, trying to calm him down.

"Shhhh, it's okay love, it was just a bad dream." She went to go turn off the stove when she felt Star tug on her arm, refusing to let go. "We're gonna wake the entire complex up if I let it go." She joked. He reluctantly let go as she went and made herself and Star a cup of tea. She brought him his cup, giving her a nod of thanks as he took it in both hands, taking a small sip and placing it down on the table in front of them.

"Don't tell anyone about this please." Lena placed her cup down and motioned for him to sit next to her, which he obliged without hesitation. Sitting with a posture that could only be described as ashamed, he was silent only making a slight slurping noise every time he took a sip. He slumped over placing his head on her lap sighing in relief when he felt her hand run through his hair.

"You can always talk to me about anything, and it only be between us." She said still playing with his hair. This was new ground for her as well. Especially with Angela, she was an open book with everyone at Overwatch, mainly because she was a chatter box.

"I.." Star started before pausing again letting the air escape his lungs without forming any other words.

"Whenever you want to." She cut him off. "Don't feel pressured into anything love, go at your own pace."

"Thank you." Star responded as he started to dose off to sleep again hoping the same nightmare wouldn't plague him once more.

* * *

Authors Note: My apologies, this chapter was suppose to be finished a while ago but I had a hard time with this one, plus some real world issues arose. This was suppose to be part of a longer chapter, but I felt this was better as a stand alone, the next one will clear up what I'm talking about.

The upcoming chapters won't take as long. Thanks for the follows and favorites, Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas to you all!


	17. Setting The Stage

A special force lead by Aleksandra Zaryanova was tasked with clearing out remaining omnics in Russia. They were struggling to make any headway, only making progress little at a time. That was until they had the company of Reaper and Dawn. The duo which Moira left in the command of Zarya were a considerable force to be reckoned with, and the others had taken notice. Since their arrival, the omnics were being easily taken out at a much faster rate than even at the peak of the omnic crisis.

The team was pinned down in cover as a flurry of bullets rained over them from the bastion units in turret configurations. "Go you're covered!" Zarya yelled at Dawn, projecting a barrier on him from her beam rifle. Dawn got out of cover teleporting over to each turret slicing them up with his blades with ease. The distraction was enough to give the rest of the team an opening to return fire. "Maximum charge!" Zarya yelled as her suit glowed a bright blue. She shot a barrage of bombs from her rifle, each one landing with an impact that dismembered any omnic standing near it. She saw another wave of bastion units setting up in their turret form in the corner of her eye. She pulled the lever of her rifle back as it charged to its full potential, shooting her signature graviton surge in the middle of them all. "Fire at will!"

In the midst of all the units forcibly held together, a black mist surrounded them all as Reaper's death blossom engulfed them all. As the shroud dissipated parts laid around Reaper as he holstered both of his shotguns, walking back to the group.

"Heavies on the flank!" One of the soldiers yelled out as some OR14s were on approach. Zarya reloaded her rifle pulling back the lever and firing an energy beam that cut through all of them. The remaining omnics clearly at a disadvantage, fled from the battle and was in a full retreat. The battle was over, as another city was taken back from the omnics.

"We're done, the area is clear, requesting pick up." She commanded into her earpiece. She glanced over at the Talon duo, which Reaper took notice of.

"Got something say?" Reaper asked in his low growling tone.

"You fight well." Zarya commented. "I never would have guessed some mercenaries would be adequately adept at fighting in a militaristic style of combat."

Reaper grunted nothing audible, but seemed to be an annoyed tone.

"Mr. Reyes was once with Overwatch in it's early days, he has a decorated military background." Dawn interjected in his uncomfortably mono tone.

"Reyes? As in Gabriel Reyes? The strike commander?" Zarya questioned.

The shuttle arrived as everyone got on board leaving the desolated city filled with scrap metal from the previous battle. "So Mr. Reyes,-"

"Reaper. Gabriel is dead." Reaper interrupted Zarya.

"Fine Reaper, how did you come in contact with the likes of Talon? A respectable figure in Overwatch gone rouge perhaps?" Reaper grunted his usual growl whenever he got questioned, even with Moira.

"Disagreements escalated into an altercation that left Gabriel presumed dead, Moira's work with genetic biological mutations and studies essentially brought him back to life from his injuries." Dawn answered for him. Reaper slowly turned his head towards him trying to get his point across for him to shut up.

"Moira has implemented dossiers on everyone she has had contact with at some point into me." Dawn said once more.

"Bite your tongue, I'm tired of hearing you speak." Reaper growled once more.

"Screw Overwatch." One of the soldiers sitting down said as everyone looked at him.

"I would of thought you would worship the ones that brought an end to the war." Reaper said sarcastically.

"Do you see any Overwatch presence here? Here there is still a war going on. They left us to fend for ourselves, and still refuse to aid us. Why would we like anything about them."

Reaper started to chuckle to himself. Makes sense how Moira was able to find an ally here. The enemy of my enemy saying.

"It's true." Zarya said starting to sound slightly somber. "Russia has been devastated by the war and the continued conflict. The U.N., Overwatch, they know nothing of our struggles and continue to be blissfully unaware of the horrors that have plagued us."

"You're struggles don't concern me, I'm only here to honor Moira's agreement." Reaper said brushing off Zarya's statement. As the shuttle flight came to an end, landing back at the factory, Zarya saluted the officers opening the doors and greeting them at the landing pad.

"We have a little down time before any other operations, you are free to go for now." Zarya said to the duo.

Grunting as usual, the formalities here was something that bothered Reaper all too much, reminding him of all the times he had to answer to Morrison. Dawn on the other hand was following every order given without hesitation. The two returned to the lab that Moira was working in along with Sombra and Doomfist.

"I assume everything went off without a hitch?" Moira asked as the duo entered the lab.

"The trivial work is becoming bothersome to Mr. Reyes." Dawn said. Reaper slowly turned his head towards him, disgusted to even hear him say his name before he looked back at Moira. Sombra just chuckled slightly as she was scrolling through screens reading up on everything.

"Well he's not wrong." He pointed out, reluctant to agree with him for the first time.

"Patience my friend, this is necessary for everything to be set in motion."

"Riiight." Reaper said.

"You have yet to say what our next step is once we got here." Akande said crossing his arms.

"You're right." Moira acknowledged. There was a pause as everyone seemed to be waiting for Moira to elaborate on her plan.

"You..you do have a plan right?" Sombra questioned.

"Sometimes even the best laid plans fail." Moira said. Everyone looked at each other puzzled not knowing exactly what she meant.

"So you are just kind of winging it?" Sombra finally asked.

"Of course not." Moira almost yelling at her. "But the less everyone knows, the better at preventing details from falling through the cracks."

Akande seemed to be annoyed by her response, not saying anything but just sighing heavily out of frustration.

"Now I know you are a little on edge for having to be stuck here, but I think things will be changing very soon. All I'm asking is for a little patience." Moira seemed like she was talking to a pouting child with her tone, though still focusing on her work. She held up a container housing a bright blue liquid. Examining it closely before letting out a slight "hm." She placed the container in her pocket and looked at Akande. She gave him a quick smile before abruptly leaving the lab.

"Anyone else getting the feeling she's kind of lost it?" Sombra asked to the three. "I can't be the only one thinking it right?"

"Moira has a plan in place." Dawn replied.

"Of course you would think that." Akande scowled sitting down with his arms folded. "How long are we going to blindly follow her until we end up in body bags?" Dawn looked like he was going to respond before Akande cut him off. "Your opinion doesn't matter here."

Sombra looked at Reaper and back to Akande and shrugged her shoulders. "Personally I don't see any difference between now and what we were doing before." Reaper caught everyone by surprise by his outburst.

"This is nothing like before!" Akande yelled back at him.

"Sure it is, the only difference is you aren't behind the wheel driving."

"We didn't carelessly sink time and money into chasing some fantasy, which we all know how likely she is to succeed don't we? And what about us? What happens when she fails and we are left with nothing only to be at the mercy of everyone else? What then?" Akande yelled getting up out of his seat. No one responded, Akande sat back down, the silence that fell among the room was an indicator that he was not the only one that shared these concerns.

Moira had to play her cards carefully in the coming moments, one false move here would be the difference between solidifying an alliance, and an untimely exit. She knew this was a crucial step in her process, and the fact that Reaper and Dawn had been so helpful in retaking some of the lost cities would hopefully be enough to swing matters into her favor. She came to Katya's office where a few of the ranking officers alongside Zarya were looking at a map of Russia with certain markers on it, the markers being reclaimed cities. _Perfect._ Moira thought to herself.

"Doctor." Katya acknowledged her seemingly annoyed anytime she saw her. "I thought I told you to let me know ahead of time if you wished to speak to me."

"You did, however I wish to speak Zarya, do I need your permission to do so?" Katya narrowed her eyes at Moira's response. She was being very cautious around Moira. She was very careful with her words, suspecting Moira had her own ulterior motives. Zarya approached Moira closing the door behind her.

"What is it?" Zarya asked.

"I have a small favor to ask." She said peeking behind Zarya looking through the small window on the door. "Whats going on in there if you don't mind me asking."

"Nothing too interesting, just plans for rebuilding the fallen cities and our next move against the omnics." Zarya responded looking back through the window as well.

"Hm. Interesting." She paused for a moment. "Anyhow I've developed this serum that should enhance abilities and strength, I was hoping you would be willing to test it for me." She said as she took the serum container of liquid out of her pocket.

Zarya seem to be hesitant but took the container and examined it. "Why don't you test it on one of your own?" She questioned her tone expressing her skepticism as she handed the container back.

"Well I would, only it wouldn't do the test any justice." Moira said taking the container and filling a needle with it. "You see they have, how shall I put this, tampered themselves already and could showcase some kind of unforeseen side effect. But you, you are the epitome of a perfect soldier. You would be perfect to execute your new found abilities." Moira explained. She was trying to play to Zarya's ego and it seemed to be working.

"Abilities?" She questioned.

"Why yes, part of the perks of becoming a super soldier, if you will." Moira could see Zarya's mind working. She was a soldier who prided herself on her strength, putting the thought of being stronger in her mind would only be a matter of time before she would agree to help Moira. "We should probably get to a more open location to give a complete test of the serum."

As the two were walking away from Katya's office, the door swung open with Katya almost rushing after them. "Where do you think you two are going." Moira tried to hide her smirk, apparently Katya had been observing her as well through the door.

"Nothing that concerns you." Moira replied.

"Doctor you are a _guest_ here, everything you do concerns me." Katya shot back.

Moira smiled back at her. "Well if you must know, I'm about to see if my time here has paid off, you are welcomed to join us if you wish." The two continued walking away as Katya stood clenching her fists. That attitude, that cockiness. It crawled under her skin and she couldn't stand it. The Talon group that bullied their way to staying here was starting to become better received by the others, Zarya being one of them. Practically Katya's go to soldier and she was starting to put her trust in the geneticist, to the point of willingly being a tester for whatever concoction Moira had come up with.

"Ms. Volskaya is there something wrong?" One of her advisers came out and asked.

"No." Katya said regaining her composure. "We have been invited to a demonstration, I think it will do us some good to see what the good doctor has come up with.

Zarya and Moira were outside where they set up training bots with the help of the other Talon members. "Will this change be..permanent?" Zarya asked as she was standing in her specified location. Moira flicked her needle twice making sure it was ready to be applied.

"Temporary. But depending on the results that your trial will yield, the direction of my tests will be given a better direction." She glanced over to see Katya and her advisers come outside and stood near the wall waiting for her test. "It could also determine the fate of Russia should this be a success."

Zarya gave a nod. "Then let us delay no further. I am ready." Moira walked over to Katya and welcomed the others along with her.

"I'm so glad you could join us. The test will begin shortly as I'm sure you're very eager to see what I have been busy with." Moira smirked at Katya, only earning a scuff from her.

"Get on with it." Katya demanded.

Moira bowed her head as she went up to Zarya and injected the serum into her arm and backed up to where the other Talon agents were. Zarya flexed her muscles feeling a sudden surge of energy coarse through her. She looked down at her and saw her skin starting to glow blue. "I feel strong!" She yelled out. The strength that was flowing through her made her believe she could pick up one of the mechs on her own. Nothing compared to this feeling she had. She went to pick up her beam rifle before Moira stopped her.

"Try doing this without any weapons." Zarya dropped her rifle and sprinted over to the bots, fast. Almost blink of an eye fast. She picked up one bot and crushed it like a can. Picking up another one and threw it far over the border walls. The last bot she picked it up and tore it in half like it was a piece of paper. Moira was very pleased with how everything was going so far. The others seemed to be just as impressed from the showcase Zarya was putting on. "Get in there, see if you can beat her." Moira turned to Dawn and commanded. Surprising everyone but Dawn, who didn't hesitate to abide her order, Sombra looked around to judge everyone else's reaction seeing she wasn't alone.

"Aren't you worried she'll kill him, or vice versa?" She asked Moira.

"No." The answer was so nonchalant, it bothered her. The complete disregard for the lives around was really starting to become apparent.

Dawn stood in front of Zarya waiting for some sort of signal to start fighting. "See if you can keep up with him Zarya, don't hold back." Zarya nodded as she charged at him throwing bunches that he easily blocked. The two had fought side by side for some time now, they had a feel for how they fought. Zarya was tactical but when push came to shove, she relied on brute force to win her battles. Dawn on the other hand was only limited to how his team was. Only being as aggressive as his squad and as passive at the same time, fighting solo was a change for him. He was in full defensive mode as he blocked each strike from Zarya, though it was unclear whether he was waiting for an opening, or until someone told him to fight back.

"For a tiny man, you are surprisingly strong." Zarya commented as she picked up and chucked him across the field. Dawn flipped around and landed on his feet before charging back at Zarya drawing his blades and swung at her. Zarya stopped his attack and caught the blade with her bare hands. Though out of pure reaction, Zarya realized what she had done and looked around. Moira was nodding her head like she had planned this from the beginning. Zarya broke Dawn's blade and threw them aside before sparta kicking him back onto the ground standing over him with the jagged blades in her hand. She felt the rush of energy diminish as her skin returned to normal color. The serum appeared to have a short up time. Dropping the blades and looking around everyone had the same thoughts as her.

Everyone was shocked, the advisers around Katya were muttering among themselves at the spectacle.

"That was amazing."

"Surely we will have no problem with the omnics now."

Katya stayed silent folding her arms as she saw Moira approach her group. With a very cocky smile Moira couldn't help but relish in her work. "I'm sure you all were very pleased with the first test, as time progresses I will be able to make better adjustments to the serum to improve functionality."

"I'm sure." Katya responded. The glare she was trading with Moira was noticeable and Moira seemed not to be bothered by it.

"I'll let you know if I need anything else." Moira said as she went to got back inside motioning for her agents to follow her. Dawn picked himself up and followed in as well. Katya turned to her advisers and seemed to be in the minority with how she felt about the doctor. She stayed silent and returned inside as well.

"Well I'd say that was a successful showcase wouldn't you say?" Moira seemed to be in a chipper mood. Nobody responded to her. Dawn was still examining his blades that were shattered, Reaper was in his own world as usual, but Akande and Sombra were observing the doctor's movements.

"She could have killed Dawn you know?" Sombra asked

"You think that would have mattered?" Akande responded. "We are all just bodies to her."

"It would have been a small price to pay in comparison for what I accomplished." Moira said finally acknowledging them. "Did you see their faces? It's only a matter of time before they fully commit to my goal."

"That's all you concern yourself with is this mysterious end goal that you refuse to tell." Akande said.

"In due time my friend, in due time." Moira said.


	18. The Devil In I

His hands were wrapped around her neck, squeezing tighter as she was starting to gasp for air. He sat on top of her preventing her from escaping or fighting back, but she wasn't fighting back. She stared back at him with those hazel colored eyes, tears were flowing from them but still she just sat there struggling to breathe. His brow furrowed as he was becoming confused. One of her hands reached up and caressed his face making him flinch slightly. She looked like she was trying to say something, struggling to gather enough air to make any noise from her mouth. He peered at her lips as she seemed to mouth something.

"It's ok. You..always..have..me."

It's ok? It's ok? How can someone say such a thing as their life is being taken away. This doesn't make any sense. No sensible person would roll over and accept their fate like this without putting up some sort of fight or push back. Her hand slowly slips from his face and flops as the life escaped her body. He got up and stood over observing those hazel eyes, the lifeless hazel eyes. She seemed to be familiar to him, like he knew who she was at some point.

"Excellent work." The clawing voice of the red head doctor echoed through the air. "Nice touch making this execution more intimate than the others." The doctor came out of the shadows and waved him over to follow her. "You're filling your role as the angel of death very well, much more efficient than your predecessor, Starkiller." He stood there and glanced back the corpse and down at his hands. He started to follow the doctor as they heard a shriek of terror.

"No!" He turned to see what was going on. The body was being cradled by some red head. She was sobbing uncontrollably, her face being lit by that contraption on the girls chest. She shot up a look that made him flinch slightly. "You monster! How could you!?" The question baffled him. He was performing the tasks he was commanded to do.

"Take care of her will you." He raised his hand at her pointing the palm of his hand at her. His aura flared as he prepared to fire a blast at her. She shrieked in terror as the flash from his blast engulfed her blinding himself with a bright flash.

Star jolted awake sitting up in bed, another vivid dream. He pinched the bridge of his nose wincing slightly letting out a sigh, the dreams had become more frequent lately. It was becoming more of an inconvenience for him now, avoiding sleeping so he wouldn't have to live out the nightmares over and over again.

"Awake already?" Lena rolled over still have asleep, by the way she slurred her speech. She reached around putting her arm around his waist. He didn't say anything back as she was already dosing back off to sleep. He dared not to even lay back down, not wanting to tempt his mind to rehash a different version of the same story he had been seeing.

Hours passed and Star still fought his urge to close his eyes. Lena was finally starting to fully wake up, seeing Star's back facing her as he was sitting on the edge of the bed. She sat up and moved closer to him and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, draping her arms over his chest making him flinch slightly. Lena noticed since his outburst a few nights ago he was more quiet and jumpy. Quiet even for Star's standards. "You sure everything is alright?" Star simply nodded his head getting up out of her reach and getting fully dressed. Lena knew there was something more going on, the outburst a few days ago gave her the obvious notion that he was having troubling dreams, but clearly there was something more going on in that head of his. Something he was not comfortable sharing with her. She felt a little hurt by the fact he was keeping silent, she thought after all they had been through, everything they shared she would have earned his trust fully now.

Star sat at the table in the kitchen folding his hands and staring off into space trying so desperately to erase the images circling his mind. He kept glancing down at his hands from time to time. God the dream felt so real. He could feel the flesh of Lena in his hands, tensing up in discomfort of taking her life away. He would never, he could never. But what if Moira somehow could. The manipulative doctor had a way of messing with people in a way no other could. Whether it was some sort of brainwashing or just a despicable blackmail, Star knew all too well what she was capable of. Only fueling his desire more to end her and Talon so nothing like that could happen.

"Looks like it's going to be a nice day." Lena's comment interrupted his thoughts as he lifted his head seeing a cup of coffee sitting in front of him, Lena holding her own cup of tea looking out the window at the sun peaking over the horizon. "Finally got around to getting you that cup of joe you like so much, know you don't fancy the tea that much." Her smile and chipper tone made Star scuff slightly.

"Thanks." Star kept to short remarks, taking a sip and dropping his head back down. Lena let out a small sigh, knowing she wasn't making any progress with getting through to him.

"You know you can talk to me about anything. And I mean anything, I won't turn my back on you ever." Star knew she was sincere and meant every word, but at the same time it was only frightening him more. She wouldn't ever turn on him, and if push ever came to shove, she would be the one paying the price. Her naive nature that he accused her of having when they first spoke at Gibraltar would be her undoing. Perhaps the dreams were simply that, just dreams. But when it came to Star, it was always anything but what meets the eye. There was always a chance of something else there, some condition unforeseen or something Angela missed in her exams. She was still digging through Moira's research after all. There were still mysteries when it came to himself, but seeing the future? It would be a preposterous notion, but at this point nothing could be totally ruled out.

"Why don't we go for a walk today, maybe a bit of exercise will do you some good. We haven't done anything since the art show." How could she always keep that chipper attitude? Finding common ground with anyone, even Lena, was tough for Star. The only being the two aren't exactly normal, but even then the situations are tough to compare. Somehow she made the most of it. Admirable, but Star could only be a pessimist seeing as how he has always been on the short end of the stick when it came to his short life.

Star took one last sip of his coffee and nodded his head. "Fine we can go." His tone still bothered Lena, but she still held an up beat attitude She hopped out of her seat blinking to the room getting dressed in some jeans and a t-shirt putting her bomber jacket on as well. Star was content in going out in what he was wearing, white shirt with some sweats. It was pretty nippy outside but the weather never seemed to bother Star at all. Probably a side effect of Moira's tampering that no one really paid attention to. The two exited the building walking down the street. The two paced down the sidewalk in King's Row, Lena was doing a little bit of window shopping here and there dragging Star along. Star seemed like he was still on autopilot. Remaining quiet and observing others as he normally did when they went out. Laughing and conversations filled the air around him, people seeming not to have a care in the world. He envied them. The feeling of nothing looming over them, paranoid almost of the worst thing happening at any moment.

" _Excellent work."_ Star looked around hearing the words lurk around in his head.

"Something wrong love?" Lena asked as Star was wide eyed examining everything around him. He was still scanning the buildings and people looking like he was ready to pounce on the first thing that made a sudden move. "Hey." Lena said once more tugging on his arm. It seemed to snap him out of whatever he was hypnotized by.

"Nothing." He said rubbing his eyes. "Nothing." He repeated once more. Lena's brow furrowed, she didn't like to be kept in the dark about these things. She was always a nosy person, but especially so when it came to someone like Star.

" _Excellent work."_ The words kept echoing in his head, he couldn't seem to escape it. Taking orders from that fiendish doctor and receiving a compliment for killing on their behalf, even though in a dream, made him sick to his stomach. The cowboy, the captain, the aerial soldier all dead by his hand, with Moira standing behind him, ordering him around like the mutt they wanted him to be, the weapon they wanted.

The two went inside an arcade that Hana had told Lena about, having state of the art games, virtual reality, dancing games, it had it all. "This should be fun, get the mind off of everything for a bit." Lena said. Star let her lead the way as he always did these days. The first game they played was a modernized version of duck hunt. Lena had the first go at it, scoring fairly high, though she wasn't as proficient as someone like McCree when it came to precision shooting. She missed a few of the targets causing the in game dog to make that taunting chuckle. Lena frowned a bit and had a sorta cute pout to her afterwords. She handed the gun to Star as he shook his head smiling slightly. "Your up cowboy." She joked trying to imitate McCree slightly.

He gripped the gun and took a deep breath waiting for the first virtual duck to appear. One by one, each duck appeared and he shot them down. His reaction time was so fast the ducks were barely clearing the virtual grass before being shot down. Lena's jaw dropped at the display of marksmanship being displayed. She had never seen him handle a gun before, just his powers and and his swordsmanship. He was giving McCree a run for his money, perhaps being even better. He cleared every level, perfectly. Even hit all the disks in the bonus rounds. Star placed the gun down and turned to see Lena still slack jawed. He smiled and dropped his head trying to hide his reaction to her awe struck face.

"You practiced with McCree at the shooting range back at Gibraltar didn't you?" She asked folding her arms. Star shook his head.

"Being efficient with weapons is what I was made for. I simply choose to stay away from firearms." He said shrugging his shoulders slightly.

"Oh you have got to beat McCree and the captain in a target practice contest, the looks on their faces would be absolutely priceless." Lena said chuckling at the thought of it.

"Something to look forward to I suppose." Star replied. He seemed to be lightening up a bit as far as his mood was. But he was a tough person to read. Lena was still enjoying the fact that they were sharing a smile an a laugh, something that seemed to evade them since they arrived here. The two walked together looking try another game before one caught Lena's attention

"Ooh I want to try this one! Here hold my jacket." It was one of those dance step games. Star smirked a little watching her shimmy around on the pad struggling to keep up with steps but laughing and giggling the entire time. He envied the pure joy Lena got from the simplest of things. The jeans she was wearing were snug in all the right places and her shirt was cut off to showing off a bit of skin. Star caught himself starring a bit. As clumsy as she seemed, she did have a certain way about her. The way she moved her body was hypnotizing, entrancing a bit. He couldn't help but smile at the pure joy Lena was experiencing on the dance game.

 _"Hahahahaha"_ That cackle caught his attention. No one else seemed to notice it though. Star looked around for the shadowy figure being all too familiar with his laugh. He shook his head slightly, maybe the lack of sleep was getting to him more than he realized. The sound of rushing air whizzed by his ear, the same sound Reaper made when he came from his shroud form, alerting Star even more, he looked around still trying to spot the white mask in the crowd of people, but he couldn't seem to spot him

"Whatchu looking at mate?" three guys were sitting at a table, Star had apparently been starring over in their direction longer than they felt comfortable with. The question went right over his head, still convinced Reaper was somewhere. "Hey!" One yelled as the three got up from the table. "I said whatchu looking at?" Star's attention finally brought to the three guys walking up to him. One saw he was holding Lena's jacket seeing her still going to town on the dance pad. "What you her body guard or something? Sure as hell ugly enough to be one."

"She sure be lookin' fine, I wouldn't mind taking a couple of rounds with her." The other guy said drawing laughter from the other two. Star got up in the mans face that made the last remark, inches away from his face.

"Walk away." He muttered. Lena finally got done with her round of dancing. Panting and out of breath, she saw the confrontation between the four. She blinked between Star and the three pushing him away.

"Hey none of that now." She said still pushing him away.

"Yea get your dog back on his leash." Star stopped and glared at them after that remark like a switch had been turned on inside of him.

"What did you say?" He asked. Teleporting away from Lena and back in the face of the instigator. "What did you call me?" He asked one more time. _The laughing was becoming louder in his ears. The poisonous cackle filled the air as he was beat down one more time. "Might be time to put you down mutt." That name, that laugh. Indescribable rage burned deep inside of him, he would get his revenge, he would cease that laughing if it was the last thing he ever did. Lunging up from his knees in rage filled attack yelling a deep roar as the adrenaline started to intertwine with the fuel from his rage, becoming overwhelming for him to bear._

"Woa man how the fuck did you-" Star grabbed the back of the mans neck slamming his head into the table after every pause in his words.

"I. AM NOT. ANYONES. MUTT!" The man was knocked out cold, the body slumped in his hands as Star was breathing heavy feeling overwhelmed by the familiar rage washing over him.

"Hey get off him!" Another man came to the his aide, trying to pull Star away tugging on his shoulder. He grabbed the mans arm and snapped his elbow the wrong way before kicking him in the gut sending the man writhing back in pain grabbing his arm yelling out in pain.

The third guy grabbed a bottle and smashed it on the side of Star's head, shattering the bottle into shards staggering Star back slightly before he unloaded a barrage of punches on the man, who stood absolutely no chance against him. " _Always fight to win, no mercy on the battlefield. Mercy shows weakness, weakness ends in death. Don't stop until the job is done. I'll beat this lesson into you every day if I have to, mutt." The shadowy figure said dropping both of his shotguns kicking him one more time as he laid in his own puddle of blood. Struggling to stay alive, that's how he was brought in this world, kill or be killed._

Star yelled out another battle cry that was a deep roar as he beat the ever living snot out of the man that attacked him until he felt another set of hands grab and try to restrain him from behind. _"Don't ever give the enemy your back." Appearing behind him hitting him with the butt of his gun. "The back is vulnerable, easy way to get killed. Fight for position." He knocked him again sending him down to his knees. The pain in the moment seemed unbearable, struggling to keep fighting. "I SAID FIGHT FOR POSITION!" He yelled winding up for one more blow to the back of his head._

"AHHHHH!" Star yelled as pure reaction took over as he backed up slamming the person behind him against the wall hearing a grunt from his opponent. The grip loosened a bit as he grabbed the arm and hurled the body over his shoulder and pounced on top. She let out a grunt of pain when she landed on the ground as Star drove his fist down with all his might, but they blocked it, scrambling to get on her feet. "AHHH!" He yelled once more, becoming frustrated with missing his strikes, he was always punished for missing. He never won the fights, 'how do you kill a phantom?' He thought, only fueling him to try harder. He charged at them wrapping them up tackling and driving them into the ground, sitting on top as he threw punch after punch. "AHHHH!" He yelled another roaring battle cry, determined to beat the phantom to a pulp, one punch. All the mocking, another punch. All the torture, another one. He would finally be repaid for all his dealings. _"Excellent work." They are proud of what they have accomplished. The ultimate weapon, the perfect killer. They finally made it. The doctor stands their with her notepad, writing down notes from the training session. He finally stood victorious over the shadowy figure. He won the fight, for once not being the one struggling to get up from his knees. Panting heavily from his long bout he stood waiting for his next orders. "That will be all for today." Just like that, he waited to be called upon again. For the next session._

The blur from his rage started to clear away, breathing heavily as he was coming down from his high from such an intense battle in his mind. The room was silent. He looked around seeing everyone covering their mouths still in shock of what was presented in front of them. Groans of pain from the two he beat down were the only audible noises along with a slight whimpering from the one he was still on top of. Looking down he saw his worst fear. Lena, bracing herself for another barrage of punches. Slowly lowering her guard from her face when he stopped attacking, his eyes went wide observing his bloodied knuckles, his fists still balled up from his previous strikes. Scratches and bruises were all over her face, a small trail of blood was dripping down from her lip. Her eyes were screaming in terror, Star looked down at his hands and started trembling, his hands visibly shaking as he slumped back and off of her. "Oh God." Slipped from his mouth after he realized what he had just done.

Lena struggled a bit to pick herself up as some of the others tried to help her up but she waved them off. "I'm..ahh..I'm fine." She said as she grabbed her side slowly getting to her feet an getting her jacket off the ground as well. Star sat there feeling some wetness drip down his head. Dabbing his head slightly with his hand, he saw a fresh print of blood stamped onto his hand his eyes started to dart back an forth before Lena stuck out her hand to help him up. Star didn't take it at first, before Lena knelt down in front of him taking his hand and brushing her lips past his ears. "It's ok, come on." She whispered still treading lightly to keep things calm. Star reluctantly took her hand and got up to his feet. No one said anything, as the two walked out, Lena slightly hunched from the pain in her side, Star looking like a scared child. Lena draped her jacket around Star's shoulders and wrapped an arm around him as the two walked back to her apartment. Star kept his head low, ashamed to even look at anyone else, even if just meeting their eyes briefly in passing, he felt like a monster, and he felt awful. When they finally got back Lena placed her accelerator on the home port, struggling and wincing in pain as she took it off. Star sat on the bed glancing up at the bathroom door that was slightly open. Seeing Lena clean herself up a bit and observing her large bruise on her back and the smaller ones on throughout the rest of her body. She changed into some cleaner clothes bringing a rag over to Star and helping him clean off his hands and his head that was still bleeding from the bottle.

his hands were still shaking slightly as he felt Lena's touch over his hands. He looked at her with such an apologetic look Lena smiled slightly, trying to reassure him that everything was alright. Star started to tear up, streams running down his cheek. "I'm so sorry." It came out barely more than a whisper before Lena held him tight.

"Its ok love, shhh shh it's ok." She patted his back as she felt him breaking down.

"I don't..I don't know what happened. I thought I heard him and I saw him then I'm fighting him like I did at Talon, and next thing I know, I'm on you and.." He couldn't finish what he was saying as Lena wiped the tears from his face gently placing a peck on his forehead.

"I know love. It's ok, relax you're safe here. Reaper can't get to you here. You're safe here." She kept wiping his head down as he sat there still in shock of what transpired. "You look pretty tired." Lena said placing the rag down. "I know you haven't been sleeping well. Maybe you should try and get some rest today."

"I can't."

"I think it may do you some good."

"No I can't go to sleep." He said placing his hands over his forehead. "He's there, every dream I have he's there. And if he isn't there I'm in his place with that fucking lunatic looming over me, telling me what to do." He said balling up his fists.

"Ok, ok." Lena said still trying to keep him calm

"Are you..are you going to tell Dr. Zieglar?" He asked. Lena sighed slightly, she knew that she could help out with whatever was ailing him, but she also knew the implications of telling her about the out lash he had.

"Do you want me to?" She asked. Seems they both had an unsaid understanding of what that would mean for the two of them if anyone at Overwatch knew about the incident.

"I wouldn't blame you if you did. I would probably if I was in your shoes."

"That's not what I asked."

Star looked at her and at all the bruises and blemishes he inflicted on her, "There would be a good chance we wouldn't see each other for a while or ever."

"That's not entirely true."

"Come on Lena." Star said getting up pacing around the room. "This isn't going to end well for, well, us."

"Then they don't have to know. Just say you don't want them to know."

"Of course I don't want them to know!" He yelled. "I'm worried about you. I feel like I'm losing control." He shook his head slightly. "I did lose control. Next time I might not snap out of it."

"Hey look at me." Lena said getting up, Star eyes trailed up to meet hers. "We'll figure this out ok?" She held him close trying to take away his worries. But a dark cloud still loomed in Star's mind.

"You have to promise me something." Star said.

"Anything." She replied.

"If things look bleak, if I lose control like that again, don't hesitate to pull the trigger."


	19. The Enemy Of My Enemy

Katya was walking with Moira, though seemingly trying to make conversations short between them. Moira was insistent on applying her serum to more soldiers to speed up the process of clearing out the omnics. Katya seemed hesitant at the notion.

"At the very least you will be able to spread your numbers more sparsely, move more efficiently." Moira stated.

"No offense doctor, but one showing of your serum isn't enough to convince me to use it at all times. We do not know the side effects, or even long term effects for prolonged usage." Katya replied as the two made it to the door of Katya's office. "We are not investors, we are not your allies, we are simply forced into providing you a home while you put up this facade of you helping us for the greater good." She opened the door and entered turning around eyeing Moira with a piercing look she always did. "Don't try to make it anything more than what it is." She closed the door in Moira's face and went to her desk and sat down taking a deep breath and turning her computer on. She entered her password and as soon as the screen popped up lighting her face with LED blue light, it was shrouded with a message box.

 _Atlas: you're long overdue for check in, status update._

Katya rubbed her forehead out of frustration, knowing she wasn't in a real good spot right now

 _VI: Unexpected guests have made things difficult to balance. Apologies._

She knew this was bad news, but she couldn't afford to go another day without checking in. The screen showed an ellipsis showing her contact was sending a message.

 _Atlas: Elaborate._

Katya started typing her message out knowing it could mean certain doom for herself, but not reporting at all would spell even more trouble for more than just her.

 _VI: Talon, they showed up unannounced. They have burrowed their way here and are staying for an unspecified amount of time._

The second she hit send her heart pounded heavy, beating her back into her seat. An eternity seemed to pass before she saw the ellipsis appeared again. She took a deep breath and held it waiting for the message to appear that could ultimately decide her fate.

 _Atlas: Specify names._

She exhaled slowly thinking this was good for her. Maybe finally being able to deal with her uninvited guests and returning to focus on her affairs rather than worrying on them snooping around.

 _VI: Moira O'Deorain, Doomfist, Reaper, Sombra, and some lab made person named Dawn._

 _Atlas: Describe this Dawn._

She wasn't exactly sure what Atlas meant. His looks? His body type? She wasn't exactly sure how to answer the question.

 _Atlas: Is he a product of project Starkiller? Is that what she is calling S-13 now._

Now Katya was really lost.

 _VI: I'm not sure what you are talking about, She hasn't mentioned any projects she is working on other than some sort of knock off super soldier serum._

Another long period of time before the next message. She was baffled now. Atlas knows about Talon projects and members. Though at this point she shouldn't be too surprised.

 _Atlas: Be weary of Sombra. She knows her way around computers._

Just like that the message box disappeared leaving Katya ponder what exactly she had sitting in her building. 'Project Starkiller?' She thought to herself. This started to raise concerns for her for a number of reasons. She had suspected there was more than meets the eye when it came to her Talon associates she was housing, especially her pet Dawn, but her alias that she was working with, Atlas, knowing about Talon affairs was even more peculiar in her eyes.

Maybe it was an act? She had never personally met with Atlas, only communicating with him via the messenger that was on his command. But with how advanced his communications were, its not too far off to assume he has knowledge on other affairs that are not exactly known to the public eye. After all when Atlas came into contact with her, he somehow knew about the new battle mechs they had constructed before even having a public showcase. In any case she figured it wouldn't be such a bad idea to hint that she knew of what Moira had done, or created. Perhaps using this as leverage for Talon to quietly disperse from her presence, and rid themselves of staying any longer.

She got out of her chair and straightened her shirt slightly before going to Moira's lab to confront her. She brought Zarya along with her, figuring it would be foolish for her to go alone, but didn't want to draw too much attention to herself. After all the others seemed to be pleased with how Moira and her crew were aiding them in their fight for Russia. The two entered the lab drawing everyone's attention to them. Sombra was scrolling through holo vids sitting with her feet kicked up on a desk, Akande had his back up against the wall folding his arms shooting Katya a look as soon as she entered.

"Well this is an unexpected pleasantry." Moira said. "To what do I owe the pleasure? Possibly reconsidering my offer?"

Katya looked around and spotted Dawn who still had that blank stare, observing and studying his surroundings as he always did. Katya walked over to him ignoring Moira's question as she circled him, giving him an over the top rundown with her eyes. Moira's eyebrow perked up, curious as to what Katya was doing. "So is this what came from project Starkiller?" Moira's face dropped as she shared a glance with Sombra and Akande who remained silent. "Dawn or is it subject S-13 which one do you prefer to be called?" He didn't respond but before anyone had a chance to say anything Moira broke the ensuing silence that followed.

"Everyone out now." Sombra and Akande followed her orders and exited the lab as commanded. Dawn followed as well leaving the three in the lab. "I said everyone." Moira commanded looking at Zarya. Katya gave a slight nod, signaling that she would be fine with Moira. As Zarya closed the door behind her, Moira didn't hold her normal jubilant look with her, even if it was a tad over the top. "How do you know about my earlier affairs? Who told you about project Starkiller?"

"Ah so it is true." Katya smirked, feeling some sort of power in finally holding a superior position over Moira. "So is it really called Starkiller? Seems like a childish name for a super villain."

"You may want to check on your source if you think that is Starkiller." Moira said plainly. Her fists were balled up by her sides, desperately trying to resist lashing out struggling to suppress her anger at her former creation.

"So there are others." Katya said. "How many more?"

Moira let out an annoyed sigh. "Three in total. Dawn is the latest, Reaper was the initial prototype."

"So where is the other then?" Katya asked

"As of right now, we believe he is with Overwatch at their HQ."

"You supplied your enemies with one of your abominations? Hardly seems like a wise thing to do given how you hold them in such high regard, able to turn the tide of a battle by just it's presence alone? That's how you described their magnitude of strength anyway."

"Do not call my work abominations!" She yelled back, losing her composure for a moment. Katya tilted her head back slightly. This was a touchy subject for her. "He defected from us after we were ordered to terminate him." She went and sat down at her desk. "Maximillian had no belief in his potential, only wanting a mindless drone to do his bidding. But as you can see from Dawn, limiting cognitive thinking has it's drawbacks in performance."

"And Maximillian is?" Katya asked.

"Dead. Killed by his ambition for his want of having a strong killer and neglect for having patience in my work." She replied.

"I see." Katya replied. "So this Starkiller, he is stronger than Dawn?"

Moira tapped her finger on her desk reluctant to answer. "Yes. I would never admit it to the others, but he had gotten significantly stronger when we last encountered him. Besting both Reaper and Dawn. Even if it was with help from some members of Overwatch."

"Interesting." Katya mumbled before turning around and leaving the lab herself. "I'll let you get back to your work now." She said with her back to Moira.

"Be careful about snooping around things you know nothing about. Could put a target on your back." Moira said adding a bit of a threatening tone. Katya looked over her shoulder and smirked before continuing her exit. Sombra Dawn, and Akande entered as soon as Katya left.

"What was that all about?" Sombra asked.

"We need to find out her source of information." Moira said. "Dig through her stuff Sombra, see what you can find out, more importantly if there is anything else she knows."

"Aye aye captain." Sombra said with a playful salute as she waved her hand going invisible to start her investigating.

"This isn't good Akande." Moira said.

"So she knows of your past work. That's hardly anything to be concerned of." He said.

"If she knows of the project, which mind you was a top tier assignment that was only on a need to know basis, that has plenty of concerning implications. You know as well as I do how little people knew of our testing and facilities. The fact that she comes across this information out of the blue is very concerning." She said tapping her head letting her mind wonder to possible scenarios. This was the first time Akande had really seen Moira lose her level head. She seemed like she was on the verge of a mental breakdown as erratic as her tone was changing. "What if she is informing Overwatch of us being here? And they supplied her with my research data for compensation? And they send him after us?"

"Doubtful." Reaper said appearing from his shrouded cloud. "They hate Overwatch almost as much as we do, if not more. They wouldn't ally themselves with them."

"You never know, as the age old saying goes." Akande added. "You never know what will overcome a person once backed into a corner."

"Precisely why we need to cover our tracks better." Moira added, while handing out small doses of her serum to Reaper and Akande as well as Dawn. "Use it should things go south or we need to make an escape. I have an eerie feeling things may be taking a turn out of our favor here. "

Sombra slinked her way through the halls, careful not to bump into anyone and alerting them to her cloaked presence, catching up to Katya and tailing her to her office. She was careful to slip her way into her office before Katya closed the door behind her. She sat in the corner still in stealth waiting for her opportunity. She relished in moments like this. People often showed their true colors when they thought to be alone, free of the looming cloud of others judging their actions. Which is why Sombra found Katya to be a unique case. She was acting nervous, struggling to get comfortable in her seat as anxiety was taking her over. She was staring at her computer screen like she was waiting for something. A knock at her office door startled her slightly, getting up and answering it.

"Ms. Volskaya, I'm sorry to disturb you, but we need you down in the tech lab for some observations, we are ready for our demonstration." Katya nodded her head and went to follow her guard to the tech lab, Sombra not far behind. Sombra held a smirk on her face, she had never seen one of their demonstrations before. Katya had always been very clear about keeping Talon separate from her own work, only interacting with them when it was necessary.

"This should be good." Sombra thought to herself. She followed Katya to a massive hangar where everyone was huddled around a lifeless omnic. She observed the omnics hooked up to some sort of devices. Most of them appeared to be shorted out and picked apart. Some laying on benches with their heads cracked open wiring spilling out of them. Sombra was intrigued by what they were doing. Exploiting some kind of programming weakness? A new electric attack that could render omnics lifeless? The questions raced through her head wondering what they could possibly be doing. She decided to record the experiment, whatever it was thinking it could be useful later.

"As you can see," The technician started explaining to the crowd. "The omnic is dead, no electric current running through him. Nothing more than a lifeless husk." He said raising one of its arms and dropped it to show his claims were true. "But once we connect him to the transfer unit." He continued as he placed a helmet on and sat down in a chair and nodded his head for the other to flip the switch. There were sparks coming from the cable as the technician appeared to be lifeless. The omnic's eyes however lit up with a green light. Not the usual blue that every other omnic had but an odd green that seemed more, well lively, was the only way to describe it. "My consciousness is now inside the omnic." The technician finally concluded speaking from the omnic with a metallic voice. Everyone had a round of applause as the omnic stood up and walked around.

"Very good." Katya acknowledged nodding her head in approval. "Is it permanent?"

"Well yes and no." The omnic said. "As of now my mind is transferred into here like a radio signal." He tapped his own metal head as he said it. "But there is a very limited range that I must stay within before the signal is lost."

Katya's approval seemed to diminish as she asked more questions. "How far is the range of your device." She asked. The omnic looked around instantly able to analyze the parameter of the hangar they were in.

"About the length of this building, which given that this is our first successful test, I would say is not half bad."

She walked over to one of the work benches and took a sharp splicing tool and held it up to the body sitting in the contraption. "And what should happen if your body becomes physically compromised?"

The human controlled omnic looked around feeling lost to what she was asking. "I'm not sure I follow Ms. Volskaya."

"If I stabbed you right now, what would happen to the omnic?"

"Well," the now shaky metallic voice said, "You would kill the source and therefor the omnic would succumb to the same fate I suppose."

"Then this isn't anything new is it?" She asked. "You've created a glorified virtual reality contraption, which is not what we are looking for!" She yelled out silencing every aspect of the hangar as her command echoed throughout. "This is no where near what our end goal is." She said placing the splicer down back on the table. She straitened her jacket and cleared her throat calming down from her yelling. "Let me know when you've done better." She turned and started to leave the hangar. Sombra knew she had to follow her, but she was still stunned by what she just witnessed. A hybrid of human and machine life. It was an incredibly ambitious goal. Then it occurred to her, while it was an impressive display, it doesn't make sense why this is what they were working towards. They hated omnics. Why are they looking to find a way to synthesize human and machine life into one.

"This is a head scratcher." Sombra thought to herself as she continued to tail Katya back to her office where she sat down at her computer screen like she was waiting for something again. She circled around the back of her chair having a clear view of her screen trying to observe what she was looking at. "Nothing?" Sombra thought in her head. She's starring at a blank screen. Then a message box popped up on her screen.

 _Atlas: Report._

Sombra leaned in and read the conversation as the two exchanged messages.

 _VI: We are closer, making progress at a steady pace._

 _Atlas: How close?_

 _VI: Full control of the omnic. Rudimentary, but successful none the less._

 _Atlas: Patience is not my strong suit. Don't make me take my business elsewhere. You know how I tie up loose ends._

The screen went blank again as Katya got up from her chair and walked out of her office. Sombra waited a bit longer making sure no one was coming back inside before she deactivated her cloak and went to work on Katya's computer. "Ha, piece of cake." She mumbled to herself. Once she got on to her computer she let an audible noise of surprise. "Huh." There was nothing. Not in the sense of information or files, but literally nothing. Her screen was blank, no tabs open from her previous log in, no icons to access applications, just a blank screen. "What does she only sit in here to talk to this Atlas person?" She thought to herself. She pulled up her holo pad to access the past conversations between her and this Atlas character. A message box popped up as she was on the computer though.

 _Atlas: I'm afraid you won't be granted access so easily Ms. Colomar._

Sombra perked up an eyebrow and typed away on her holopad trying to trace the I.P. address of this Atlas person. To her surprise she was denied access. She shook her head slightly like she was talking to herself trying to try another one of her firewall bypasses. To her surprise she still was denied though. She looked around to see if possibly she was being watched by a hidden camera or something of the sorts but she spotted nothing. She continued to attempt to bypass the firewalls but she kept getting denied every attempt.

 _Atlas: You'll have to do better than that._

The mocking was becoming much more annoying coupled with her holo screen that kept displaying the haunting "ACCESS DENIED" message to her. She was audibly grunting in frustration constantly being denied entry as every attempt she made was thwarted. "Pedazo de mierda." She mumbled to herself as she swiped away her holo pad and typed a message back onto the computer.

 _VI: How do you know who I am?_

She placed her arm on the desk propping her head up with her hand waiting for a reply.

 _Atlas: You aren't the only one well informed._

She wasn't sure how to respond, the message was so vague yet had such a threatening tone to it. This was new ground for her, she wasn't use to being the one in the dark. She hated this feeling.

 _VI: Enlighten me, make it an even playing field._

She tried to maintain that she had the upper hand. Something that was becoming more difficult to hold onto the more time went on.

 _Atlas: Now Ms. Colomar, where's the fun in playing fair?_

Sombra grunted and slammed the desk with her fist in frustration. She was fed up with the games already, something she usually enjoyed but not so much when she was on the shorter end of the stick. She had to make a play, even if it was a bluff. She was tangled in a game with this Atlas character that she was determined to win.

 _VI: Overwatch finally got someone on par with me huh?_

She figured whoever this Atlas was, they had to be Overwatch. Who else besides Talon knew her real name, or at least had the means of getting such information that she didn't allow many to know. She was always careful with her personal information, even limiting Talon to how much they knew.

 _Atlas: Olivia, you're disappointing me._

"Shit." She said out loud. She made herself look even more foolish now. She was fed up at this point.

 _VI: Who are you?_

As the next message appeared, Sombra had a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach, something that shook her foundation. Not an easy task given her composure.

 _Atlas: Enjoy fumbling in the dark Ms. Colomar, we'll be in touch soon enough. Give my regards to the good doctor._

The screen cut off and Sombra sat there slack jawed, stunned that she failed at her task to a certain extent. She sat there stunned by the brief conversation she had with this, well username for all she knew. She got out of the chair eventually slowly walking towards the door and checking to see if she was clear to exit. Once she was out of Katya's office she activated her cloak again so that no one could trace where she had been, walking back to the lab still struck with numerous questions flying through her head.

Tech savvy, clearly whoever this Atlas figure was is effective with computers and knows their way around coding and hacking. Better than herself. Never before had she been bested from being able to bypass virtual security. Although she joked around and had a playful attitude, she prided herself on being the best hacker in the world. This was a wake up call, the responses and taunts seemed a bit personal. This Atlas figure knew how to mess with her head, get inside and damage that pride which she held in such a high regard.

She entered the lab, deactivating her cloak as Moira eyed her with a look waiting for her to present her findings, like how it always was. "Well?" Moira finally asked.

"Um nothing." Sombra said shaking her head breaking away from her internal thoughts. "I didn't find anything useful on her computer, she must be getting her intel through somewhere else." She sat in silence pulling up her holo screen and typed looking up anything that could point her in the general direction of who this alias was.

"Does the name Atlas mean anything to you?" Sombra asked Moira and really everyone else in the room.

"No Sombra it doesn't." Moira dismissed her question quickly, thinking it was some other nonsense that Sombra found on the web. The response only filled her with more concern, as she was determined to figure out the identity of this Atlas person.

"So you didn't find anything useful, nothing that we can use to our advantage in any way?" Akande asked once more.

She hesitated to answer but ultimately made up her mind. "Nope, nothing." She said pulling up a holo cube that she had in her hand and made sure she saved the video she had taken of the experiment she witnessed. "Nothing at all."

* * *

 **Watchpoint Gibraltar**

Winston was busy making adjustments to his to his tesla cannon in his lab at Gibraltar. It had been quiet at the base for a while now, and he enjoyed the loads of free time he had. The trash can full of banana peels and empty jars of peanut butter was abundant. He lifted up his welders mask after making the last bit of tweaks to the cannon before taking it off the work bench and fired it a couple of times. It sparked slightly but nothing shot out.

He placed the cannon back on his table grabbing another jar of peanut butter, letting out a huge sigh. "Looks to be another all nighter."

He climbed to his tire swing slouching back in the crevice and scooped some peanut butter out with his finger, enjoying the creamy texture as he watched his television taking a small break swinging back and forth. Nothing particular of interest was catching his attention. He mainly had the television on as background noise, something to drown out the silence as he worked. Athena popped up as the metallic voice filled his lab.

"Winston we have an incoming message marked urgent."

Winston hopped off his tire and swung his way to the computer. "Who is it from?" There was a slight ticking noise like Athena was attempting to sift through the message finding the sender.

"Sender unknown."

Winston scratched his head and tried to open the message.

"The message is locked with a high grade encryption, it will take time to decipher."

"Athena can you track the message to where it came from?"

Another brief moment passed before Athena responded. "The message originated from Russia."

"Forward the message to Jack, maybe he can make some sense of it." Winston added before getting up to go meet with him over the matter. This was a strange turn of events, he thought to himself. He walked out of his lab in a bit of a hurry trying to cross the grounds of the base with a bit of haste. "Commander." Winston said over his communicator. "Are you available at the moment?"

"In the office with Jesse. Why?" He replied.

"I'm having Athena forward a message to your terminal, you may want to take a look at it. I'm on my way now." As Winston opened the door and entered, he saw Morrison already examining the message, or at least as much as he could.

"So what is it?" Jesse asked still sitting comfortably.

"Well as of now its an encrypted message from Russia from an unknown sender. That's the extent of what we know." Winston said.

"Russia?" Jesse questioned. "Last I remember they ain't too fond of us."

"Indeed. Which is why receiving a message of this sorts is puzzling." Morrison said.

"Not really if you think about it." Jesse said. Both Morrison and Winston looked over at him as if they were waiting for him to elaborate on his statement. "You don't need to see the contents of the message to infer some details." He said playing with one of his revolver rounds, flipping it around his fingers like you would with a coin.

"Such as?" Morrison asked.

Jesse flipped the bullet in the air catching and placing back into his belt, adjusting his hat and flicked some of the ash off of his cigar before taking another puff from it. "Well go over what you know. You have a hidden note from someone that is very much well known for disliking us which means.." He stopped thinking that they would be able to finish the rest.

"Means someone doesn't want us to know who sent the message?" Winston questioned.

"Well yes, but someone doesn't want anyone in Russia to know they sent a message off. I'm assuming it was sent over a secure channel?" McCree asked placing his cigar back into the grips of his teeth.

"Correct it was." Morrison said examining his screen.

"Somebody over there wants our help, or at the very least our attention. But doesn't want to give their position away." He said puffing out another cloud of smoke.

"So there is a double agent or something of the sorts?" Morrison asked.

"Possibly, but I suppose we won't know for sure until we can access the actual message." He took out his cigar pointing at the screen.

"Get every tech specialist on this, I want this message decoded ASAP!" Morrison commanded. Winston scrambled out of the office to get to work on decoding the message.

"Why would someone from Russia contact us?" Morrison asked. Though it seemed it was more of a rhetorical question.

"Maybe Talon is there." McCree answered. Morrison scuffed at the response thinking it was a joke. "I'm serious partner, think about it. Talon has seemed to have dropped off the face of the earth since they killed Antonio. Now we are getting a message from someone that really don't like us all too much?" He fiddled with his cigar in his hand. "The world knows we're after Talon, all I'm sayin' is it's a mighty big coincidence that all this is happening within a few weeks of each other."

"I suppose anything is possible these days Jesse." Morrison replied still looking at his screen like it would somehow reveal some hidden answer.


	20. Perspective

He struggled to stay awake, being exhausted from the lack of sleep the past couple of days. It showed on his face, but Star would rather stay in this state rather than relive his nightmares once again. He was sitting on the couch propping his head up with his hand trying to stay awake while the t.v. played. He wasn't really paying attention to what was on, but having some background noise was helping him a bit. Somehow comforting as oppose to the silence. Oh how things had changed for him since being involved with Overwatch, more specifically Lena.

"You look awful love." The voice stirred Star a bit but he still remained seated. Lena had gotten back from shopping a bit, having next nothing to eat in her apartment. Normally Star would tag along and accompany Lena for such activities, but since the arcade incident, he was complacent to remain indoors. He didn't know what triggered him to lash out into the fit of rage, but it was better to be safe than sorry. Self control was taking precedence, but he feared it was becoming more difficult to do. "I got some fresh fruit that was on sale, the grapes look so good and-" She looked at Star whose eyes were becoming heavier by the second. She finished putting the groceries away and sat on the couch next to him, the sudden shift in the position of the cushions under him making him jolt to a more awake state.

"It's been days since you got any good amount of sleep, you really need to get some." She placed her hand on his leg as she spoke making him flinch slightly.

I'd rather skip out on sleeping than relive another one of those horrid visions. And who knows how I'll react next time." He said referring to the incident at the arcade.

"I think that was just a one time thing." She said shaking her head. "You might have just been hearing things, and with the lack of sleep your mind just became susceptible to what you fear." Insightful as she thought it was, Star still wasn't convinced.

"I wasn't there." He said. "As soon as I heard that laugh I was gone, lost in memory. It's never happened before, but what if this isn't the last time it happens?" He trailed off thinking the worst. She placed a hand on his trying to ease him a bit.

"You've been through a lot. More than would be possible for some to bear. It traumatized you." She looked over at her accelerator that was sitting on it's home port. "The nightmares, the flashbacks, it all seems too much sometimes. The simplest things that you normally did set off a trigger and next thing you know you have no control. " Star looked at her figuring she was talking about her own experiences at this point. "Making yourself suffer isn't going to help you though." She added. Star ignored her comment starring back off into space, getting lost in what could possibly happen. "Maybe you just need something to keep you grounded." Star looked at her confused as to what she was implying before she darted off into her room and came back holding something in her hand. She straddled his lap and reached around his neck clipping something and let the chain dangle freely from his neck. He grabbed it and examined it and saw the lettering engraved onto the two tags.

A Positive  
Oxton  
L.O.  
F  
RAF

"If you ever feel like you are getting lost, maybe these will help remind where you're at, so to speak." She said wrapping her hands around his neck and having them rest on his shoulders. Her generosity towards Star always seemed to reach new heights that seemed unearned in his eye. Star just let out out a sigh and slightly shook his head

"Lena I can't take these." He said holding them in his hands. "This..this is.." His couldn't compile any more words it seemed. "This is too much." He said offering them back to her. She cupped his hands in hers putting them back in his lap.

"I want you to." She said. Holding his face in her hands, she started inching closer to him. "I learned that physically having a reminder of something, or someone, can make a difference." She said fiddling with the dog tags on Star's chest. As she continued to talk, she was slowly leaning closer and closer to him. "Whenever you feel like you are losing your place," closing the distance between them, "I want you to always," her voice was nothing more than a whisper. Her breath warmed his skin and lips, anticipating what was coming next. "Think of this moment and this night. And think of me." Her soft lips graced his, as she held a long, strong hold on him. Still being abrasive, Star pulled back looking away, still feeling undeserving of the treatment he was receiving. He felt a gentle nudge on his face as she pointed him back facing her. "Please." She said. "Let me help you." She held his face not allowing him to pull away, continuing where she left off.

'God its been so long', Star thought since they had any intimate time alone without it being occupied by something unexpected. Her hands started to venture around him, caressing his face and sliding down his neck tracing his muscles down his chest venturing further south as her mouth remained glued to his. She finally broke away, opening her eyes slowly as Star did the same. His hand reached up for her, wanting to feel her. But his hand clenched to a fist before he slowly brought it back to himself. Lena just let out a small sigh cocking her head to the side slightly.

"Touch me." The statement came out so soft, yet so demanding at the same time.

"I..I can't." He responded back. She took a hold of both of his hands and placed them on her hips with her hands on top of his. Star held his breath, afraid of meeting her flesh in his grasp.

"Relax." She whispered, tangling her fingers with his. He slowly exhaled and closed his eyes. She guided his hands on her body feeling every curve on her sides, slowly releasing them as Star continued his journey on his own. She slowly massaged his shoulders as Star continued his exploration of her body, wrapping around to her back feeling every inch of her through the fabric of her tank top. Raising his hands up to the top of her back pausing as he felt her smooth skin through his rough hands. "Don't stop." She whispered as she placed her forehead on his. The anticipation had been brewing in her body since they arrived in London, but she was willing to go at his pace as it seemed that the trauma that Star had been through regressed him back to like it was his first time being with her. His hands raised up to her shoulders as he felt the straps of her shirt hanging on. He opened his eyes and felt her nod her head. "Keep going." He dropped his hands and lifted her tank top up and over her head. She still had bruises and blemishes on her body from their altercation in the arcade making him stop as soon as he saw the purple and blue coloring on her body.

"Lena, I don't..I can't..." His mouth was tripping over itself, struggling to find the right words. She guided his face to look at herself, meeting eye to eye. Tears started to well up in his eyes. "What if it's worse next time?" He asked. He was scared, genuinely frightened of himself. She gave him a gentle kiss and wiped the tears that were running down cheeks.

"I know you're worried about what happened." She said putting her hands behind her back, unhooking her bra and letting it fall freely as the straps slid off her shoulders. "About what might happened." She continued, grabbing the bottom of his shirt and crumpling it up getting ready to pull it off of him. She lifted the shirt over his head and tossed it aside. She started tracing her fingers over the scars on his chest and abdomen. "If I've learned anything over the years, its that time is precious." Once again she grabbed both of his hands and held them in hers. "Time and love are the most valuable possessions one can share." She let go of his hands and started to rub his chest slightly again. "You're the only one I want to share them with." Star opened his mouth like he was about to say something before Lena held one finger up to him, silencing any protest he might have had. "Even if its just for tonight, just let everything go." She kissed him again, moving down his neck as she went on.

Star let out a sigh closing his eyes enjoying the sensations of feeling Lena on him. Her warm body, her soft lips. Slowly he started to conquer his fears, gathering the courage to embrace the brunette fully that she seemed to be begging for. He wrapped his arms around her feeling her in full, taking in her scent, feeling her warmth. The fear still lingered in the back of his mind, but he decided to take Lena's word. He picked her up as she wrapped her legs around his waist and hung her arms around his shoulders, Star carried her to the bedroom, being extra cautious of placing her down on the mattress. Lena looked up at him with a welcoming smile, Star held himself up by his arms hovering above her before he started to return the treatment Lena was giving him. kissing her down her neck, trailing down her upper chest and down to her breasts. Lena inhaled a sharp gasp closing her eyes, as Star took one in his hand and the other in his mouth. Teasing her a bit, drawing a subtle moan from her lips, he continued down going further south, past her belly button and down to her shorts. Lena laid there, letting Star have a free turn at her, letting him do as he pleased as fast or as slow as he wanted to go. He slid her shorts off of her and started to tease her a bit more going around her sensitive folds that were already soaked with anticipation. He wrapped his arms under her waist and held her in place, her hands gripping the sheets tightly as she felt the wondrous sensation that she had been craving so much. Her breaths were becoming deeper and louder as she started to moan as she exhaled, her body starting to writhe with pleasure, shifting between arching her back and laying flat in a fluid motion. She was getting close as her knees came together, holding Star's head in place, gripping his hair tightly in her hands.

She was biting her lip, trying to be as quiet as she could, almost as if making a sudden noise would scare Star off. She finally got to her breaking point holding her back in an arched position throwing her head back and moaning out a short breath. "Star..". He took it as a sign to turn up the intensity, holding her hips tighter, restricting her hips to no movement as he felt her hips desperately trying to help him along. Whether it was the anticipation finally being met, or Star was really that skilled, the orgasm shuddered her entire body moaning loudly as she couldn't contain her spasms of pleasure riddling throughout her body. She came down from her blissful high panting heavily as Star crawled back up to meet her eyes. "Where did you learn to do that?" She jokingly asked, sounding like she was still in her euphoric state. Star merely chuckled slightly and kissed her as a response. He felt her try to flip over but Star refused to give up his dominant positioning.

"Please." He whispered. Lena smiled as she reached down to take his pants off and felt his member prod at her folds. The two of them still locked eye, Lena being the first to break it as she clung to Star feeling every inch slowly poke into her. She was still as tight as ever from her orgasm, pulsating around his member for every inch the entered, anxious to take in everything he had to offer. A slow pump ensued, seemingly trying to relish in the moment, wanting to savor every little feeling he had. Lena wasn't able to contain herself anymore, clawing at his back and wrapping her legs around his waist. Every thrust was drawing a moan from her until he started to pick up the pace she tried to stop him.

"Wait." She said with more of a breath than she did her voice. He stopped on command still holding her tight. She turned her head so that her lips were grazing past his ear. "I want to enjoy this as much as possible." She felt him nod his head as he started again with the slow pace that she couldn't get enough of. Star continued his pace trying so desperately to hold out as long as possible as Lena was losing herself in the ecstasy, losing her control to contain her moans. She was taking short breathes as she felt another swelling orgasm brew in her loins. Star felt her arms hold onto him tighter, trying to respect her wishes of going slow, he kept the same pace but his thrusts were becoming difficult to hold back. It wasn't until her orgasm took control of her that Star lost control, unable to contain his hips as they seemed to develop a mind of their own. Lena moaned a muffled sound into Star's neck as he pumped hard a couple of strokes as he came to the same blissful feeling as well. The feeling of being milked and squeezed by Lena's strong muscles was too much for him to bear. The slow steady pace drew a feeling unlike anything the two of them had. He came hard. Lena held him in place with her legs feeling him swell inside of her. She bit his neck lightly, still spasming and riding the waves of her own orgasm before she finally felt the tides inside her finally start to calm. The two sweaty bodies still huffing from their workout made no attempt to move at all, until Star finally rolled off of her and to her side. The two laid on their backs, both panting in exhaustion before Lena cuddled up and nestled her head on Star's chest, feeling the after effects already.

"That was worth the wait." She said in a tone that already sounded like she was half asleep. Star pulled the covers over top of them and wrapped his arm around Lena giving her a small peck on her head and stared at the ceiling fan seemingly still wide awake for a bit. He glanced back down at Lena who wasted no more time to drift off sleeping contently in the arms of her lover.

Love. It was a concept that was foreign to him, but it seemed to be the only description Star could figure best describes his feelings whenever he is with her like this. He started to feel the after affects too, as a wave of exhaustion washed over him. Couple that with the lack of sleep he had been getting and he stood no chance in staying awake any longer.

The sun started to shine through her window waking her up slowly, that coupled with what sounded like her phone ringing. She noticed Star had both his arms wrapped around her as he still appeared to be sound asleep, a pleasant sight for her given recent events. She smirked and only got more comfortable in his arms until she heard her phone start to vibrate on the table. She took a small sigh, not wanting to move, but ultimately decided she needed to answer it. Star's hold tightened on her as she moved startling her slightly.

"Don't move, I'm comfortable." He said with his eyes still closed.

Lena smiled before kissing his chest, "How long have you been up?"

"Don't know, a few hours maybe. I was content staying like this." Lena chuckled slightly before reaching over his body and picking up her phone.

"Oh it's Angela, I'd better answer this." She said. Star refused to let go of her though, forcing her to take the call still in bed. "Hey Angela."

"Lena, I hope I'm not calling too early for you but this couldn't wait."

"It's fine, I was just getting up anyway."

"You and Star need to take the earliest shuttle back to Gibraltar. I've found some rather disturbing details in Moira's research."

"Disturbing? Like how disturbing?" Lena asked. The way her tone shifted caught Star's attention as he opened his eyes finally looking at the worried expression on Lena's face.

"Well to make it short, his amplifiers require..maintenance for lack of a better term." Lena got up out of bed and started walking into the other room.

"What kind of maintenance?" She asked.

"Well, it seems Moira mainly concerned in making a specimen survive, failing to take into consideration the longevity of said specimen, or Starkiller in this case." Lena looked back to see if Star was listening in to her conversation.

"Could there be like side effects to neglecting the maintenance? Like hallucinations or anything like that?"

"Tough to say, this is still new water I'm treading on, but I suppose it's possible." There was a pause over the phone before Angela's tone shifted to an even more serious one, angry even. "Why?"

"Nothing just wondering if I should be on the lookout for anything." She glanced back at Star who was getting dressed in the bedroom. "We'll be back as soon as possible." Lena hung up the phone and walked back into the bedroom with a look of worry that she couldn't hide despite her best efforts. "Pack your stuff, we're going back to base."

"Is something wrong?" Star asked finishing getting dressed.

"I..well I really don't know too well. Angela said she found something about your amplifiers in the research data. That you need to go back and see her for an examination of some kind I guess."

Star looked down, disappointed that this came to light now, after he had probably the best night of his life. "Don't worry luv, I'm sure it's nothing too big, otherwise she would have made a bigger deal about it."

"I suppose." The two didn't talk much after that. Focusing on packing, or in Star's case, on the implications of the sudden need for his return to Gibraltar. His mind started wonder like it always did in these situations as he packed his armor and sword away. Maybe Lena told them about his dreams or his behavior lately. No she wouldn't do that, even though he wouldn't blame her if she did. He glanced at her as she had her back to him finishing getting dressed and packing her things, still seeing the bruises on her. He shook his head slightly as he finished packing what little things he had. He glanced down at the dog tags still hanging around his neck gripping them for a brief moment. "Grounded." He thought to himself. "Stay grounded."

The ride to the shuttle was quiet, neither one really saying much since leaving the apartment. Star still remained silent, even as they boarded the shuttle, he let Lena do all the greeting and talking for the two. Lena finally spoke up when they were in flight, observing Star looking out the window, watching the clouds pass by. "Everything will be just fine. You know that right?" She asked.

Star didn't even bother trying to deny it anymore. "Am I giving it away too much?" Star joked.

"Your leg hasn't stopped bouncing since you sat down." Being made aware of his leg made him hold his leg in place finally sitting still. "I promise you have nothing to worry about."

Star glanced out the window and sounded disappointed. "Don't make promises you can't keep."

"Why such a gloom attitude, certainly weren't this way last night." She said leaning on his shoulder in such a cheeky manner.

"Sorry. Last night was really special and all and I seriously can't be more grateful for everything you have done. I enjoyed every second, every minute of it." He took a hold of her hand with his while glancing around the dog tags still hung around his neck. "Which is really more than I can say for, well just about anything. I get a sense of displacement, like I was just dropped in a spot in this world, this morning was the first time I actually felt like I..well belonged." Lena smiled at the remarks. "It's just back to reality you know? Our shitty reality."

"Yea I get it." She said tightening her hold on his hand. Nothing more needed to be said, and nothing was. The rest of the flight was spent sitting in silence, in each others grasp waiting for them to return to reality. The last moments of solitude Star feared they would share for a while. It's not that he hated Overwatch, but the constant feeling of walking on eggshells loomed over him. Being careful not to rub someone the wrong way or say the wrong thing to make the wrong person upset. It's mainly why he was so quiet unless it was just him and Lena alone, McCree being another he conversed with a lot. The turbulence they hit was a sign that they were close to arrival. Star tucked the dog tags under his shirt, thinking it would be weird if anyone saw him wearing them. Strange as it would seem to anyone else, they did bring a bit of comfort to him. Possibly still having a euphoric feeling from the previous night associated with them. The shuttle landed and the two were exited the shuttle onto the landing pad with Angela waiting for them on the landing pad.

"Hey Angela!" Lena yelled running up to give her a hug. Angela chuckled slightly at the childish nature of Lena but received and returned the hug nonetheless.

"Good to see your shoulder has healed up nicely." She said examining her old wound, though she did catch a glimpse of some fresh blemishes, or rather fresher ones on her arm. She chose not to say anything about them just yet as she saw Star approaching as well.

"Doctor." Star said to her.

"I trust you two stayed out of trouble while you were gone?" She said smiling at Lena, though she shot Star a quick glare giving him an unsettling feeling.

"Now would I be the type to get into any trouble?" Lena sarcastically stated making an over exaggerated innocent look to Angela. The two chuckled together while Star stood there not exactly knowing what to say or do. He hated this awkward feeling being around other Overwatch agents, a feeling he did not miss while he was in London.

"Well we better not waste any time, if you'll please follow me." Angela motioned towards Star.

"Can I put my things away first?" Star asked still holding his sac over his shoulder.

"Oh I think the room you were occupying is being used as of now, you'll have to find somewhere else to stay." Angela responded.

 _Feeling welcomed already._ Star thought to himself. He looked at Lena and both of them knew what they were thinking. "It's not ideal, but you can stay in the holding cell areas until we can find something more suitable for you." Angela added. Star glanced back at Lena with a disappointed look, and she knew what he really wanted, but they both knew it was for the better they not be too public with their relationship.

"Here I'll take it to my room and you can pick it up after your done and we'll find you another place to stay for the time being." Lena said. She took the sac off of Star's shoulder and went about her way before Star could even respond. Angela started walking towards the medical ward without saying anything more to Star.

The walk to her office was unnerving, the clicks from Angela's heels echoed through the hallways in a hypnotizing fashion. Star wasn't one to make small talk, even with Lena. But he felt he needed to say something, anything to break the pattern of the clicking. Angela beat him to the punch though.

"Any power use while you were gone?" She asked still keeping her eyes straight not even as much as turning to acknowledge him.

"No."

Another long silent stretch before they got to her office, where Winston was already waiting, observing his computer screen.

"Oh Star, um welcome back, enjoy your time in London?" He asked being as courteous as he always was.

"Yea."

"Sit on the table, and take your shirt off please." Angela demanded.

 _Shit._ Star thought to himself. He took off his shirt and balled up the tags with the shirt placing it on the chair by the table, hoping they wouldn't notice them. He sat with his hands folded waiting for Angela to start her exam.

"Any headaches or pains?" She asked putting on her gloves.

"No." He responded.

"Do anything special in London?" Winston asked as he pushed a cart with his computer and started hooking wires to ECG sensors and placing them on Star's chest.

"I met Emily, and Lena and I saw an art show she was featured in."

"Oh that sounds like fun." Winston said booting his computer up.

"You don't strike me as the artsy type, or at least able to appreciate it." Angela said. Star got the impression she was trying to deter him from speaking about anything that would seem to bring any sort of joy from his tone. Over reacting? Maybe. He surely wasn't about to attempt to upset the person who quite literally has his life in her hands. Though it seemed his presence did just that here.

"Truth be told, I'm not. I only went because Lena wanted to."

"Enough small talk, Winston what are the readings?" Angela coldly asked.

"Erm right." Winston said adjusting his glasses slightly to clearly read his monitor. "It's just as you suspected, the amplifiers appear to be having a diminishing effect. The toxins that are pumped throughout his body are being purged at an exponentially slower rate." Angela made a bit of a grunt, as she examined Star's torso looking for any indications of any infections or additional side effects from the biotic fluids. She circled around to his back, careful to look for anything out of the norm. She noticed a pretty nasty scab on the back of his head but didn't say anything about it.

"So what now?" Star asked.

"I've almost finished a, well battery of sorts, to replace in the amplifiers." Winston said.

"So another procedure then." Star said. Winston nodded his head. "Does it need to be done soon?" He asked directing his question at Angela.

"It would be safer to do it sooner rather than later." Angela said. Star noticed Angela had a bit of odd stare, like her mind was focused on something, worrying almost.

"Sounds like a simple procedure." Star added, but neither Winston or Angela responded. Star had a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. "Right?" He added in a softer tone.

"The issue isn't what we need to do, it's how we go about doing it." Angela added.

"What do you mean?"

Angela walked back to her desk while Winston sighed heavily. "You remember how we discussed removing any of the amplifiers in any way would be fatal?" Winston asked him. Star nodded his head. "Well to implement the new batteries would mean deactivating them, temporarily shutting them down while we replace the power source."

"So that would mean-"

"It means you could die as soon as we shut one off." Angela cut him off returning to the exam table folding her arms.

"I see." Star said, looking down at his hands clutching together.

"It's only a small possibility, and we will take every necessary precaution." Winston added, but he noticed Star didn't react keeping his eyes down on his hands. "Right then. We can do it tomorrow morning. Right now I have to get back to work on decoding that message for Morrison. We've hardly made any progress thus far." Winston said packing his things.

"Message?" Star asked.

"We received a peculiar message traced back to Russia, though we are unable to identify the sender or the contents of the message. It has a very complex encryption." Winston added. "Strange that we we would receive anything from them given the state of our relations with them."

"Bad?" Star asked.

"Very." Winston replied. "So tomorrow morning then? First thing?" Winston asked. Angela nodded her head in affirmation. Star put his shirt back on, being slick to still hide the dog tags from them.

"Don't be late." Angela coldly stated to Star. Winston walked out of the office and just as Star was ready to follow, when he turned to ask Angela a question.

"Doctor, can I ask you something?" Angela looked at him waiting for him to fire away. "Is it possible that these toxins or biotic fluids, cause hallucinations of any kind if they got out of balance as you put it?" Angela scuffed slightly turning away to file some paper work. "Is something funny?" Star asked.

"Lena asked something similar when I spoke to her on the phone." She replied. "That's a pretty nasty scab on the back of your head." Star reached up feeling the unnatural skin on the back of his head. She has to know, he thought. "Is there anything you need to tell me? Are you seeing things?" She asked.

Star slowly shook his head, as if he was unsure himself whether he was giving the correct answer or not. "You know I will only be able to help you if you are completely honest with me, about everything." She put extra emphasis on the last part.

"But..you do want to help me?" Star questioned.

Angela raised an eyebrow at his response. "Have I given the impression that I do not wish to treat you?"

He wanted to give his honest answer, he really was unsure of her intentions. But he also wanted to stay out of the cross hairs of any frustrations from anyone here. He shook his head again, "No you haven't." She turned away and went back to her desk sitting down and started typing at her computer. Star got up off the table and was walking out of the office when he caught a glimpse of a picture hanging on the wall. He stopped and examined it seeing six people standing and posing. He recognized some in the picture, the massive giant Reinhardt that he has seen in passing. Torb the smaller one in the front, as well as the one standing next to Angela, Liao.

"You have to understand, not everyone here sees you as the victim here." Angela said. Still staring at her screen. "Some just see you as a killer."

Star dropped his head and nodded mostly, with everything that has happened he almost lost sight of how he became caught up in this situation. Thinking if someone did anything to Lena, he surely wouldn't have the same kind of mercy towards them.

"First thing tomorrow?" Star asked?

"First thing." She replied.


End file.
